A Girl, An Apocalypse and A Dixon: The Beginning
by moonstar825
Summary: Alex is a 17 yr. old country girl who knows how to take care of herself. Jake Dixon is the ranch hand that taught her everything she knows. When the apocalypse happens they find themselves in an ideal situation to survive, but will it matter in a world that is trying to kill you? How much can a person take before they lose their humanity? Rated M for cursing and violence.
1. Chapter 1 - Life Before and Day One

**A/N: Just a quick note to say this is my first TWD fic and I hope you like it. I started a Bethyl fic prior to the MSF, but my inspiration dried up after they killed Beth, so I decided to finally write a story that has been on my mind for a while. All original characters - main male character is a Dixon cousin (think Daryl without the abuse history). It starts off slow, but please hang in there. Since it is starting at the beginning of the apocalypse (not just jumping into it like the show) it is necessary to build the background and frame the world they are coming from. **

**Day One**

**Chapter 1 - Life Before**

Alexandra Haddley was not your typical seventeen year old girl. She was raised on a ranch, known to the locals as the Lazy H, by her hardworking (and rarely home) parents, Scott and Julia, their housekeeper, Koko, who, along with ranch hands Danny and Manny had been with the family since they inherited the property twenty years ago. Their third hand, Jake Dixon, had been with the family since Alex was seven.

Alex was immediately taken with Jake. By eight years old, she was following him around the ranch every chance she got. Her parents loved Jake like their own son and they knew that Alex was safe under his watchful eye. Jake was a natural outdoors man. Born and raised in the woods of Georgia, Jake knew all about hunting and tracking. He was especially fond of the compound bow his father had given him when he moved to California to work for the Haddley's. His father and Alex's father had been in the Army together and their families had lived outside of Senoia, Georgia after completing their service to their country. Jake's father, Cal Dixon, worked hard to improve his family's quality of life; his brother was notorious around Senoia for his boozing, womanizing and abuse of his family, mainly his wife and youngest son, Daryl. For that reason, when Jake told his parents he wanted to drop out of high school and leave Georgia after getting suspended from school for fighting _again_, Cal called his old Army buddy in California to see if he could use Jake as a ranch hand. Cal hoped that Jake would finally be able to escape the disdain that people had for those with the last name of Dixon.

Alex was happy to have Jake around. As an only child, growing up on a two-hundred acre ranch with parents that were often gone, Jake became like an older brother to her. He never complained that she was ever-present. He kept an eye out for her and did his best to keep her out of trouble and harm's way. He kept her parents from finding out that she'd gotten the tractor stuck when she was joyriding around the ranch at 10. After helping her get the tractor out of the bog and back to the barn, he helped her clean it up. He then helped clean _her_ up and sent her on her way, telling her parents that she'd been helping him clear some land they were going to plant next year when she slipped and fell in the mud.

When she was 15, she'd been out riding her horse, Penny, when the horse got startled by a rattlesnake, reared up and dumped Alex off. She broke her wrist when she tried to break her fall. Penny took off and Alex tried to go after her, but she only made it a few steps before she realized that she was going to need some help as every step she took caused a sharp pain in her hip and she wasn't getting anywhere fast. She had no cell reception, plus the fall had shattered the display screen making the phone useless even with reception. Alex was about two miles from the barn and most of that was a steep downhill trail that was going to be a bitch in her condition. Alex used her long sleeved shirt to make a sling for her arm, tying it close to her body. Then she stumbled her way down the trail, only making it about a quarter of the way before she heard the familiar sound of an ATV getting closer. After a few minutes, the ATV and its rider came into view, eventually stopping next to her.

"_Figured ya'd be up this way," Jake said as he stepped over to her._

"_How'd you know to look for me?" Alex asked through the wide grin on her face._

"_Foun' Penny still saddled when I got back ta' tha barn. She looked pretty run down, figured somethin' musta happened, you'd never leave 'er like that. Thought I'd check yer favorite trail first," he drawled at her. _

"_She got spooked by a rattler, dumped me and took off runnin'. I shoulda known she'd run back to the barn. I think I broke my wrist, and there's definitely somethin' wrong with my hip. Think ya' can take me to the clinic? My parents are gone until Monday," she asked, knowing he would say yes. _

"_Yep. Let's getcha back ta tha bunkhouse. You can call yer parents an' let 'em know what happened. Don't worry Al, we'll getcha fixed up," he said._

It was always like that with Jake. Alex managed to find herself in a predicament and Jake always showed up at the right time. Alex was naturally curious, always asking Jake questions about nature, then going alone to investigate things. By seventeen, she was a capable hunter and tracker in her own right. She and Jake had been taking hunting trips since she was thirteen, often for a week at a time, just the two of them in some desolate area of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Their exploits were well known to the locals. After being gone for a week, they'd roll back into town, truck loaded with game that they would barter at the local farmers market with various ranchers for things like honey and feed for the pigs, horses and chickens. They traded big game like elk, deer and bear to the butcher in exchange for him processing and tanning their hides. They had developed a nice little system over the years and everyone in town looked forward to their annual hunting trips.

The Lazy H consisted of about two hundred acres, most of which was not usable for growing crops due to steep hillsides and abundance of granite in the ground. But the Haddley's, or rather their ranch hands, had put years of hard work into the land and created about two acres of farmland, where they grew anything they could get to take root - tomatoes, various types of squash, pumpkins, leafy greens, carrots, watermelon and pumpkins. There was an old orchard that had been the pride and joy of Alex's great-grandparents, Horace and Mabel, who had originally settled the land. There were apple, cherry and almond trees, as well as a few mandarin trees. Alex loved to sit in the apple trees in the fall and feed apples to Penny. She got a kick out of the way the apples made her foam green at the mouth.

The ranch was nestled in the California foothills, about fifteen miles from the nearest town, Indian Springs, with a whopping population of 1,621. Their closest neighbors were about two miles away and the Haddley's had spent a lot of time and money to make the ranch self-sustaining. Electricity was provided via solar panels, there were several wells, a creek for irrigation and, of course, lots of farm animals - chickens, pigs, horses and about 50 head of free range cattle. They butchered their own meat and what they didn't need they bartered with their neighbors. Koko, the housekeeper, canned vegetables and made preserves out of the fruit - blackberry preserves were Alex's favorite. Supplies were stored for the winter and any excess was bartered as well.

This was Alex's life. She had just started her senior year in high school, excelling in her honors classes and on the debate team. She was on the water polo team - it was the only sport that girls could participate in that had any contact at all, and she loved the competition with the boys since the team was coed. Alex had applied early to her top five colleges and had already gotten early acceptance letters from 4 of them. She could go anywhere she wanted. She had a couple of girl friends, but most of her friends were guys. They were the ones that she could talk hunting and weapons with. She didn't have much in common with most girls her age. And Alex was ok with that. She was smart, talented and happy. The world lay at her feet; all she had to do was choose which way to go.

And then one day the news started reporting weird things happening all over the country. A man in Florida attacked his neighbor and ate him. When police responded, they shot him multiple times and he kept coming after them. A woman in New York ate 3 people in her apartment building before someone noticed and called the cops. She was shot a dozen times before she stopped coming after them. Stories like this were reported for a few days, all over the country, before the government took over and started broadcasting only emergency alert messages about remaining calm and staying indoors.

It all happened so fast. One day Alex was at school, talking with her friends about the weird stories of cannibals. The next day, Friday, there was a cannibal attack reported in her town at the clinic. The school closed early and Alex went home, waiting for her parents to get off work. By that evening, she still hadn't heard from either of her parents and she was growing concerned. She'd tried calling but both their cells went straight to voicemail. She sent them both texts and never got a reply, which was weird. While they may not always answer her calls, they always responded to her texts.

Her father, Scott, worked for a security company in San Francisco, and after a long week he occasionally would not make it home on Friday night. Scott stayed in the city all week and only came home on the weekends. Her mother was a nurse in a care facility in the next town over, so it was possible that something had happened and she needed to stay the night. Still, it was unlike them to go so long without contacting her. Something was definitely wrong. The housekeeper, Koko, was on her annual two week vacation to Montana to visit her family, so Alex was basically on her own. The ranch hands were always around, but they lived in the bunk house down near the barn. The main house was quiet, but Alex didn't mind. She liked the quiet. She had already checked the T.V. to see if the broadcasts had changed, but it was still just the same message about staying indoors, staying calm and waiting for further instructions.

By first light next morning, Alex still hadn't heard from her parents. She tried calling them again; both still went straight to voicemail. Alex didn't bother leaving a message this time. She decided to go to the bunkhouse and see what the guys had planned for today. There was plenty to do and they always welcomed her help. With Koko gone, the hands had to fix their own meals; she usually made lunch and dinner for them but they were on their own for breakfast. Alex thought she would see if they wanted her to fix their meals today. She wasn't as good a cook as Koko, but she was no slouch in the kitchen either.

She knocked on the door to the bunkhouse, expecting to find Danny, Jake and Manny getting ready to start their day. She waited, but no one answered. Alex looked around and noticed that Jake's truck was there, but both Manny and Danny's trucks were gone. _Maybe they got an early start after all, _she thought.

Alex knocked again as she opened the door. "Mornin' guys, everyone decent?" she hollered as she stepped inside. No response.

Alex made her way through the house, knocking on each door before peeking inside. Both Danny and Manny's rooms were empty - Danny's looked like he'd packed in a hurry, clothes tossed haphazardly on the bed and floor, closet door half open. Manny's room looked like it always did - spotless. Alex knocked on Jake's door and opened it, afraid she would find the same scene. Instead, Jake was sprawled out on his bunk, naked as the day he was born, covered in sweat and shivering, blankets shoved off the bed.

Alex didn't flinch at his nakedness. She'd known Jake most of her life, and they'd spent a lot of time together, just the two of them. When they were out on their hunting trips there wasn't much privacy, they were both familiar with each other's bodies, not in an inappropriate way, it was just a function of the relationship they had and the activities they did together.

Alex made her way into the room, talking quietly the whole time so that she wouldn't startle Jake. She pulled the covers over his body, and then felt his forehead to check his temperature. He was burning up. She'd never felt a person that hot before. Alex couldn't just leave him here. She had no idea what was going on in the world, she didn't know where her parents were, it looked like the other hands weren't coming back anytime soon and Koko wasn't due back for another week. She'd seen Jake Thursday afternoon after school and he didn't look sick. This had come on real fast. She knew she needed to get his fever down before she needed to worry about anything else.

Alex pulled the door closed behind her and went to the bathroom to check the medicine cabinet. There was some Tylenol and some cough syrup. She knew her parents had some stronger stuff up at the main house from when her father had been sick with pneumonia the previous winter. He'd had a high fever too, but Alex didn't remember him being as hot as Jake was.

Alex grabbed her cell and called the clinic in town, but the phone never connected. She tried again from the land line. Instead of the usual operator, a recording came on - "Due to the current outbreak, Indian Springs Emergency Clinic has been closed by federal authorities. If you have a medical or psychiatric emergency please call 530-555-7878 for the local authorities. Residents are encouraged to shelter in place until local authorities advise you differently." Federal authorities closed the clinic… that didn't make sense. How bad had things gotten overnight that they had to close the clinic?

Alex tried the number from the recording, but there was no answer. There wasn't even a recording. Alex took this as an ominous sign and decided that she would just have to take care of Jake herself until someone showed up or she learned of some place she could take him. She went back to the main house and gathered everything she could think of that might help Jake, all the prescription meds she could find, over the counter fever reducers, rubbing alcohol, cloths for cold compresses, a thermometer, some Ensure and some chicken soup. She tossed it all in the back of her old '79 Chevy truck, as well as some extra blankets and towels. She was pretty sure she was going to have to try to get Jake into a cold bath to try to get his fever down. He was a big guy; she wasn't sure how she was going to get him in there.

Alex brought all the supplies into the bunkhouse, and then took a glass of water and the bag of medicines to Jake's room. She found him just as she had left him. She felt his face and his skin was still burning up. Alex grabbed the thermometer and stuck it under Jake's tongue. She watched the digital display as it crept higher - 100, 102, 104, it finally stopped and began frantically beeping at 105.1. That was the highest temperature she'd ever heard of. She wondered how long it'd been this high. Alex knew that there was risk of brain damage from a fever being too high for too long. She hoped that wasn't the case this time.

Alex grabbed a couple of pillows, lifted Jake's head up and propped him up in a sitting position so she could try to get some meds and water into him. Alex sat on the edge of the bed and raised the glass of water to his fevered lips. She tipped it slightly, hoping his body would reflexively swallow the small amount she dribbled in and not choke on it. She held her breath as she watched Jake's Adam's apple. When it quickly bobbed up then down she exhaled. That answered one question - she should be able to get some medicine in him. She gave him another few sips, each time watching his throat for his swallow reflex. Alex took a look through the prescriptions she had found, looking for the one her father had taken for the pneumonia. She found the bottle labeled _Erythromycin_ and took out 2 pills. They were rather large and Alex wasn't sure if Jake would be able to swallow them. She took one, placed it on Jake's tongue and tipped a little more water than before into his mouth, then waited. After what seemed like forever, he swallowed the pill. Alex gave him the other in the same manner and followed with two extra strength Tylenol.

Alex kept Jake propped up and left him to rest. She figured she'd give the medicine a couple hours to see if it affected his fever at all, and then try to get him in the tub. She went out to the kitchen, filled a bowl with rubbing alcohol, ice and water, took one of the cloths she brought from the main house and returned to Jake's bedside to gently wipe his face, neck and check down with the cold compress. He moaned a little when she introduced the ice cold towel to his neck, but that was all. After a few minutes and several passes over his upper body, Alex went to the kitchen to fill several Ziploc bags with ice cubes. She placed them in his armpits and on either side of his neck, and then left him to let the meds kick in.

She needed to eat something. She also realized that with no ranch hands around, she was going to have to take care of the livestock and all the ranch chores. There were some things she might be able to leave for a day, but she would definitely be overwhelmed within a few days. There was just too much work for one person to take care of, especially if she also had to take care of Jake.

As Alex set about in the kitchen making something to eat, she started thinking about her parents. She really should have heard something from them by now. She checked her cell again, but there weren't any new notifications. Alex tried calling again while waiting for the toaster to pop her toast out. Again, the call never connected. She tried calling her friend Molly Riggs, whose father was the town sheriff. Again, the phone wouldn't connect. Alex grabbed the handset for the land line in the bunkhouse and tried Molly again. Nothing. She tried the phone number for the sheriff's office and got an answering machine. She left a message asking Sheriff Riggs to call back or come by the ranch if he could. Alex was definitely getting worried.

After a quick cheese omelet and some orange juice, Alex went in to check on Jake. It'd been just over an hour since she gave him the meds. Alex was increasingly feeling like Jake was the only person she had left in the world and she really hoped he would wake up soon. Jake was still the same - still hot, still in the same position she left him in. Alex decided to try to get him into the bathtub, maybe if she could get the fever under control he would wake up.

She grabbed one of the blankets she'd brought from the main house, a thick comforter that was a kind of satiny fabric. She rolled Jake over away from her and placed the blanket underneath him before rolling him back on his back. She climbed up on the bed and pulled the blanket out towards the wall, so that Jake was now fully on the comforter. Now for the hard part. Alex wrapped Jake up in the comforter, and then swung his legs off the bed. She crawled on the bed and positioned herself behind him, pulling his upper body onto her lap, and then she slowly scooted them forward towards the edge of the bed. Locking her arms around his chest under his armpits, she slowly maneuvered him onto the floor, eventually laying him down flat. She grabbed the edges of the comforter near Jake's shoulders and began to pull him out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later she had him in the bathroom, but she had no idea how to get him in the tub. Alex pushed the comforter off of him and stood in the tub, hooking him under the armpits again. She managed to get him up on the side of the tub but couldn't figure out how to get him in the tub without dropping him. Finally, she just pulled him in on top of her, using her body to break his fall into the tub. The sight would have been hilarious in any other circumstance - on her back in the tub with a naked man passed out awkwardly on top of her. Alex wished someone was here to find it amusing. She managed to wrangle herself free, then propped Jake up as best she could, trying to get his core low enough to be in the water when she filled the tub.

Turning the water to lukewarm, she let it run as she ran back to the bedroom to grab the thermometer and a large plastic cup from the kitchen. She returned to the bathroom to find Jake quietly moaning, though he still wasn't moving. Alex filled the tub as high as she could, then began taking cups of water and slowly pouring them over Jake's neck and upper body. She placed a cool cloth on his forehead and just continued pouring cool water over him. After only a few minutes, Jake began to shiver, but Alex continued her ministrations. After twenty minutes, Alex pulled out the thermometer to check his temperature again. 104.5. At least it was lower. She wasn't sure how long she should keep him in the water. Then again, she wasn't sure how she was going to get him out of the water, so it looked like the best option was to continue trying to cool him.

Alex continued this process for an hour, checking his temperature every 20 minutes or so. When it got down to 102.4, Jake started moaning again, this time rolling his head back and forth and moving his arms. His body was shivering and he had goose bumps all over his body.

"Jake, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes for me?" she asked while ringing out the cool cloth and replacing it on his forehead.

"Mmmpppphhhh," was all he replied.

"Come on, Jake, you gotta wake up. I don't know what else to do to help you," she whispered.

Alex continued to talk to him, about nothing in particular, just whatever came to mind. The recording she got at the clinic, the last news report she'd seen, the latest school gossip, anything to keep her mind busy and away from the increasing likelihood that this was bad, like end of the world bad. Jake would moan and move a little, but so far he hadn't opened his eyes. Alex finally ran out of things to talk about, so she started quietly singing the last song she'd heard on the radio, _Rollin' in the Deep_ by Adele. She was halfway through the song when Jake's raspy voice startled her into silence.

"Ya know I hate that shit. Whatcha singin' fer?" Jake mumbled at her.

"You're awake! Thank god! I was starting to get worried," Alex spewed out. "I was talkin' to you to maybe help wake you up, but I ran out of things to talk about in our one-sided conversation."

Jake's eyes were now fully open and he was slowly processing the situation.

"What tha hell is goin on? Why'm I in tha tub? This fuckin' water's freezin'! Ya tryin' ta kill me, Al?" Jake made like he was going to push himself up, but Alex put her hand on his chest to stop him.

"Don't be such a baby. I came in this mornin' to see if ya'll wanted me to make lunch and dinner since Koko is gone, but Danny and Manny were gone and I found you dyin' in your bunk. You were burnin' up and I couldn't get you to wake up. I took your temperature and it was over 105. I managed to get some strong antibiotics and Tylenol in you, but I needed to get your fever down before it started to cook your brain. This was the only thing I could think of," she explained quickly.

"How'd ya get me in tha tub all by yerself?" he asked.

"I managed to get you on a blanket, slid you off the bed, dragged you down here and pulled you into the tub," Alex answered quietly. "Here, let's take your temp again. Make sure it's still going down," Alex said as she put the thermometer under his tongue.

"101. Well, that's a little lower than before. How do you feel? Do you remember what happened?" she asked.

"I 'member feelin' a little off on Thursday afternoon but didn' think nothin' of it. Friday me n' Danny were out repairin' tha fences on tha southern pasture. Danny said somethin' 'bout gettin' a call from his wife that somethin' was wrong with their kids, real sick or somethin'. Said he was gonna head home early fer tha weekend. Don' know what happened ta Manny. He was workin' on tha' eastern pasture fence with Allen Wheeler since it's their fence line too. Don't remember gettin' back to tha' bunkhouse or nothin'," he finished.

"You think you can stand? I'll admit, I wasn't sure how I was gonna get you outta the tub. Gettin' you in there was a bitch, but gravity was on my side. Thought I might have to build a travois to roll you on and bring one of the horses in here to getcha out," she joked.

"I think I can get myself up an' outta here. You gotta towel or somethin'?" he asked.

Alex grabbed a large towel off the rack next to the toilet and held it up for him, shielding his body from her view.

"Ya already seen everythin' there is ta' see. Don't know what'cher hidin' from now," he drawled as he pulled himself to a standing position. Alex helped him wrap the towel around his waist before offering her arm to help support him as he stepped out of the tub.

"Yeah, I seen it all," she grinned. "Not like it's the first time. Besides, I was paying more attention to keeping you alive, not staring at your junk."

"Uh huh," was his only response.

Jake was a little shaky once he was out of the tub, so Alex had him rest on the toilet while she went and fetched him some clothes.

"What day is it?" Jake asked as she handed him some boxers, pajama pants and a t-shirt.

"Saturday. Afternoon. I been here since just after sun up trying to fix ya up," she replied as she helped him get dressed.

"Where're your parents? Shouldn't they be here?" he asked, concern evident on his face.

"I don't know where they are. I haven't heard anything from them and I haven't been able to get through on their cells. I don't even know if the phones are still working," she replied as she helped him into his clothes.

"What do ya mean ya don't know if tha phones're still workin'? What tha hell is goin' on?"

Alex filled him in on everything she knew as she got Jake back to his bed - getting sent home early from school on Friday, the reports from all over the country about people eating other people and not dying when they were shot, the recording at the clinic and the reports of cannibals there.

Alex checked his temperature again after all the exertion of getting out of the tub, dressed and back to bed. It was still at 101. That was good. There were still a couple of hours left before he needed his next dose of medicine. Maybe she could get some food in him.

"Think you can eat some chicken soup?" she asked him as she got him settled in.

"Sounds good. I'm actually hungry. Guess I haven't eaten in a while," Jake said as he got comfortable. "I really appreciate ya takin' care of me like this. I prolly woulda died if ya hadn't come along."

"No worries. You've saved my ass plenty of times. It's about time I returned the favor," she said with a smile. "Now let me go heat up some soup for you. You finish that water and I'll bring you another glass. You've got to be dehydrated, running that high a fever for that long."

"You got it boss," he smirked.


	2. Chapter 2 - Days Two, Three & Four

**A/N: I will start shifting between POV's of the characters, but I will denote that in each section as it happens. Thanks for reading :)**

**Days 2, 3 and 4**

**Chapter 2: Meet the Johnson's**

Jake recovered pretty quickly after that. Alex got him fed and hydrated, and gave him regular doses of antibiotics and Tylenol over the next two days. Alex had managed to tend to the most basic of ranch chores while Jake was bedridden, tossing feed to the chickens and slop to the pigs. She'd moved the horses to the southern pasture so she didn't have to worry about feeding them for a couple days. Jake tried to argue with her about helping out two days in to his recovery, but Alex wasn't budging. She needed him at full strength to help her around the ranch, and his recovery would be faster if he just stayed put.

She and Jake had moved to the main house after his fever broke late on Sunday. Alex never heard back from Sheriff Riggs. They tried the internet and the T.V. Nothing. No internet connection and just static on the T.V. Figuring this was an emergency, Alex raided the emergency supply closet her parents kept stocked at the main house. Amongst other things like MRE's, bottled water, first aid kits and weapons, Alex found a radio and batteries. She gave the radio to Jake and had him fiddle around with the dial while he sat in bed and she finished getting their lunch together. He found an emergency broadcast just as Alex came back in the room with their sandwiches and apples:

"_... from the emergency broadcast system… A state of emergency has been declared for the entire United States of America. An as yet unidentified illness has breached all quarantines and defied all CDC protocols. Martial law has been declared by the President. All citizens are required to shelter in place until the emergency has been contained. Please stay tuned to this frequency for further updates as they become available… This is a message from the emergency broadcast system..." _

They listened to the recording twice and then Jake turned the radio off, tossing it on the bed near his feet. "Well, tha' wasn't very helpful. Wha' tha hell's goin' on? I cain't believe this shit!" he groaned, taking a bite from his apple.

Alex was frustrated. They were four days into this mess and she still didn't have a clue what was going on. Maybe she should drive into town and see if she could find the sheriff or someone that knew something. This couldn't really be the end of the world, right?

"Maybe I should drive into town and see if I can find someone to tell me what's going on. I'm starting to freak out. Why haven't my parents come home?" she sighed, bringing the sandwich to her mouth even though she was no longer hungry.

"Nah, I don' like tha idea of ya goin' inta town alone. Ya heard tha' recording, this ain't no joke. Somethin's gotta be real fucked up for tha' message ta be tha only info they's givin' out. It's been what, three or four days since tha last real news broadcast ya saw?" She nodded to him. "Only four days ta get from normal ta totally fucked? That's gotta be some fuckin' illness. Like a plague from tha bible an' shit."

"Guess you're right. If things really are that bad, I shouldn't go into town alone. But what about the neighbors? I tried calling the Johnson's when I couldn't get a hold of my parents, but the phone just went to voicemail. Maybe I can run over to their place and see if they know anything," she said.

"Still don't like tha idea of ya goin' anywhere alone. We don' know what tha fuck's goin' on out there. I'm feelin' better. We can drive over there after lunch. An' I think we should grab some guns from tha' lock up. We got no idea what's outside tha' fences."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get you dressed, then we can grab guns from the lockup and head out," she said as she grabbed some clothes from his pile near the bed.

With Jake dressed, and lunch finished, Alex walked down the hall and unlocked the gun room, letting Jake inside while she grabbed a couple of bottles of water to take with them. Jake came out of the room with 2 shotguns, 2 Glocks and ammo for both weapons. "You've shot both these before, right? Know how to use 'em?" he asked, smirking, even though he knew the answer.

She stood there with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face. "Of course I know how to use them! I've shot and cleaned every gun daddy ever brought home. _Do I know how to use 'em?_ I can't believe you," she laughed.

"Jus' gotta make sure. Don't know what ya get up to when I ain't lookin'," he said with that same smirk on his face.

"Hold on a sec," Alex said, running back into the gun room. "You forgot these," she said, holding up two holsters for the Glocks. She tossed him one then strapped the other around her waist. She grabbed one of the Glocks off the table, checked the clip, set the safety and stuck it in her holster. She locked the gun room, shoved the bottles of water and extra ammo into her day pack and grabbed her shotgun and headed to her truck. Jake grabbed the other shotgun and followed her out.

The Johnson ranch was a couple of miles away, down a washboarded dirt road. They passed a couple of other ranches but didn't see anyone out and about, which was weird. Most weekends you could find people out working their fields or tending to fences, kids playing in the pastures or the creek. It was eerily quiet.

When they reached the Johnson's property, Jake hopped out of the truck to open the gate, waiting for Alex to drive through before closing it and jumping back in the cab. Alex hated to set foot on anyone's property without notice, but since it didn't seem like the phones were working they didn't have much choice. The Johnson's ranch hands weren't anywhere to be seen, and their horses meandered lazily in the meadow. When they reached the house, Jake called out loudly, "Hello in tha house! It's Jake an' Alex from tha Lazy H. Anyone here?" They waited, watching the house for any sign of life. After a few minutes, Jake repeated the call. Still nothing.

Alex was starting to feel like she was in one of those cheesy horror movies she liked to watch late at night. Only this wasn't predictable, she had no idea what was going to happen next.

"Well, I guess we should go knock on the door," Alex said to Jake, starting towards the steps to the front porch.

"Lemme go first," Jake said, putting his arm out and blocking her way.

They made their way to the door. The entire front of the house was glass and they could see into the empty living room. Jake reached out and knocked on the glass door, "Anyone home?" he called.

After a moment, they saw movement in the shadows of the hallway that led to the back of the house. A figure was slowly moving towards them, limping slightly. "Looks like Mr. Johnson hurt himself," Alex said as she smiled and waved at him. "I hope he's ok. I wonder where everyone else is," she said absently.

As Alex watched Mr. Johnson get closer to the glass, the light from outside illuminated his greyish skin. Alex stopped waving at him as he walked right into the glass, snapping his jaws at them and clawing at the window. His mouth and hands were covered in what looked like old, dark blood.

"What tha' fuck?" Jake exclaimed as Mr. Johnson continued to bang his body against the glass.

Alex noticed that Mr. Johnson's eyes were a milky color, and his some of his skin was peeling off his hands as he continued to mindlessly pound against the glass.

"He looks dead," she whispered to Jake.

"Yeah, tha's what I's thinkin' too," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the door. "Ya said somethin' 'bout hearing on tha' news that people were gettin' shot after eatin' people but tha bullets didn't stop 'em, right?"

"Yeah, that's what they were sayin'," she replied. "So he's dead? Do you think there's a cure? If he's dead why's he walking?"

"Yer guess's good as mine. Wha' about tha' blood on his mouth? Ya' think that means he ate his family?" Jake asked, regretting saying it as soon as he looked at Alex. Her jaw was clenched and he could see that tears had welled up in her eyes. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her spine was stiff. "Sorry," he said, pulling her into a hug. "I know yer thinkin' 'boutcher parents. They're smart and they're fighters, ya know that. Betcha' they're tryin' their damnedest ta get home to ya," he said as he rubbed her back.

Alex allowed herself a moment to feel sorry for herself and miss her parents. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she pulled out of Jake's embrace. "I'm sure you're right," she said, looking him in the eyes. "But if this is what's happened across the country, I don't think dad has a chance of making it all the way here from the city - sure he's a gun enthusiast and knows how to fight, but his guns are here. And mom… you know her. She wouldn't just leave the people at the care facility. She would stay to make sure they were taken care of. Jake, I don't think they're comin' home," she finished with a sigh.

Jake didn't say anything. He just squeezed her shoulder and sighed, not knowing what else to do.

"What should we do? Should we check the house to see if anyone else is still here? What do we do with Mr. Johnson? What CAN we do with him?" she asked, shoving her feelings about her parents aside and looking back at the figure pounding at the window.

"Why don'tchu stay here an' distract 'im. I'll head 'round back an' see if tha' back door is open an' check out inside. We might have ta' put 'im down though, Al. He don't seem ta recognize us, an' what happens if he tries ta bite us? I'm not eager ta find out wha' happens to a person that's bit."

Alex thought about what Jake was saying. "Do you think there is any way we can just lock him in a room or something? What if we kill him and come to find out there's a cure? I don't know if I could live with that," she finished.

"I get it, Al. But if it comes down to us or him, I choose us. I'll try to wrangle 'im inta a room or somethin'. You stay here an' keep 'im occupied. Don't let yer guard down," he said, patting her shoulder again before heading for the back of the house.

Alex stood in front of the glass door and looked at poor Mr. Johnson. She pushed thoughts of her parents looking like this out of her head and focused on the details inside the house. The living room was a disaster - couch cushions tossed all over, papers strewn about, coffee table upended. It looked like someone had gone through and tossed the place like in the movies. She could see Jake as he approached Mr. Johnson. Suddenly, Mr. Johnson turned around and started moving towards Jake. Alex drew her gun and took the safety off as she reached for the glass door. As she pulled it open, Jake kicked out at Mr. Johnson, knocking him to the ground. Alex looked around the room to see if there was something she could use to tie him up, her eyes falling on an extension cord. She hurried to grab it, as Mr. Johnson was dragging his body towards her with just his arms. Jake grabbed him by the leg and pulled him back, causing the Mr. Johnson to turn his attention away from Alex. Alex took the opening and wrapped the cord around his arms and torso, quickly making a few passes before tying it off. Mr. Johnson continued to try to lunge at them both, snapping his jaws the whole time.

With Mr. Johnson secured for the moment, Jake drew his gun and quickly moved to look through the adjacent rooms. There were six rooms on the first floor - kitchen, dining room, living room, office, bathroom and the laundry room. He quickly checked the kitchen, dining room, laundry room and bathroom, finding nothing of note. He checked Mr. Johnson to make sure he was still secure before moving towards the office. Jake had a feeling that was where Mr. Johnson had come from. He'd passed the room on his way in, but hadn't checked it, wanting to get to Mr. Johnson quickly. As he approached the room, he could hear soft groans. Bracing himself for what he thought he would find, Jake stepped into the room, sweeping it with his eyes.

Movement drew his eyes to the floor near a large oak desk. He could see an arm moving weakly behind it and he stepped further into the room, rounding the desk slowly. What he saw was horrifying - what was left of Mrs. Johnson lay on the floor, moaning and writhing as she tried to inch her way towards Jake. Her stomach had been torn open and her guts spread across the floor around her. Most of the flesh on her body had been torn away and part of her face was missing. Jake turned on his heel, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Alex was guarding Mr. Johnson, who was still snapping his jaws at her and growling. Seeing the look on Jake's face she said, "You found Mrs. Johnson, didn't you?"

Jake just nodded.

"Is it as bad as I think it is?" she whispered.

Jake nodded again. "I think we need ta put him down, Al. Even if there is a cure, I don' think this is somethin' he's gonna want ta survive. Not after what he did ta his wife."

Alex looked at him, then stepped forward towards the office. Jake reached out to stop her. "Trust me, ya don't wanna see it. It's bad, Al."

She looked him in the eyes and put her hand on his, "I know, but if I'm going to have to kill him, or others like him, I need to see what they are capable of. I'll be careful."

Alex moved quickly down the hall and carefully opened the door, gun drawn and at the ready. She stepped in and assessed the scene;Mrs. Johnson was still moaning and trying to move towards the door. Taking a beat to process how badly the body was damaged, Alex recognized that there wasn't anything to be done to save her. Alex cocked her gun, whispered an apology to Mrs. Johnson, put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.

Meeting Jake back in the living room, she nodded quickly to him. He cocked his gun and shot Mr. Johnson in the head. Alex knew that the Johnson's had school-age children that lived at home, and she couldn't leave without checking for them. She didn't want leave them if they were like their parents. She headed up the stairs to the bedrooms, Jake following close behind. All the doors on the second floor were closed, so they moved as a team from room to room, clearing each before moving to the next. All of the rooms were empty though. Alex hoped that the kids had made it somewhere safe, though she was starting to wonder if there was such a place. What had the world come to?

After clearing the house, the pair headed back out to the porch. Alex tried to make sense of it all in her head. She had just killed her neighbor. Or at least, what had once been her neighbor. Alex was certain that what she had done was the only option - there was no way Mrs. Johnson could have recovered from the damage that had been done to her body. Even if they had been able to get her to a hospital. And Jake was right, if there was a cure, Mr. Johnson would have been ruined by the knowledge of what he'd done to his wife. It was the kindest thing they could have done.

Alex sat on the porch swing and thought about this new world she suddenly found herself in. It was clear now that there was something seriously wrong, probably not just here in the US but all over the world. Jake sat next to her, staring at the gun in his hand. "I think we should do somethin' with tha' bodies," he said after a bit. "Don't think it's right to jus' leave 'em in there."

Alex agreed. "We should do something. Do you think it's safe to bury them?"

"Dunno. Maybe we could burn them instead? Ya know, like the Injuns used to do?" he said.

"Yeah… let's do it back home though. I want to get out of here, and we can't just set them on fire and walk away. I'll go look for some sheets to wrap the bodies in," she said as she stared off into the distance. Alex slowly got to her feet. It was only mid-afternoon, but it seemed like years had passed since this morning. Everything was different now, heavier somehow.

"You go on an' sit here while I go wrap 'em up. No need for ya' to help with that," Jake said, watching her carefully. He was worried. She was a tough girl, no doubt about it, but this was something even he was having trouble wrapping his head around.

"Nah. I can help. It'll be faster with two of us. Let's get it over with," she said quietly.

Wrapping Mr. Johnson up was easy. Caring for Mrs. Johnson, however, was challenging. There wasn't much holding her together and the more they tried to move her, the more she fell apart.

Finally, Alex had enough. "Let's just take the biggest parts that are easiest to move. We can't put her back together… I can't… pick up any more of these pieces…" her voice trailed off at the end.

Jake nodded in agreement. "Why don'tcha go wash up while I finish this up. I kin' carry 'em out ta tha' truck myself."

Alex, usually too stubborn to give up on a job, accepted Jake's offer and headed to the bathroom to scrub the blood off of her arms and hands. As she watched the blood run off her into the sink, staining the white of the porcelain, Alex let her mind wander back over the events of the last few days. She was overwhelmed by her emotions - fear of the undead, anger at her parents for not being home, fear they were dead too, hope that somehow they would survive and find her. She had just killed a person, a person she had known and had dinner with and babysat for. Alex was sure killing Mrs. Johnson had been the only option, but it didn't lighten the weight on her soul that pulling the trigger had instilled there. Alex had killed all types of animals, never once flinching at taking that life. But this was different. Or was it? Once these people became monsters, maybe it didn't count as taking a human life anymore. She needed more information about what happened to the Johnson's. Maybe talking to Jake about it would help.

She was happy that Jake was alive, and she had to admit that of all the people in her life, he was the one she would want to go through this with. They had spent hours together in silence stalking their prey and they didn't have to talk to know what the other was going to do. At least that part was easy. Everything else about this situation was complicated and scary, but she could count on Jake, and right now, that was everything.

Alex managed to get most of the blood off her hands, though try as she might, she couldn't get it all out from under her nails. She quickly dried her hands off, feeling slightly guilty for soiling their pristine white monogrammed hand towels. She straightened the towel on the rack then headed out to her truck where Jake was just finishing up securing the bodies.

"Thanks for that. I just needed a minute. I know that they weren't the same people that I babysat for all those years, but it still feels like I killed her... " Alex's voice trailed off, not finishing her thought.

"I know. I feel tha' same way 'bout it. I remember when I was 'bout eight we had this dog, Shep. We hadn't seen 'im in a couple days, so my cousin Daryl an' I went lookin' for 'im in tha' woods, checkin' all the spots tha' we liked to play. Nothin'. No sign of 'im anywhere. When we got back to tha' house hours later, Daryl noticed a trail of dried blood leadin' under tha' house. Poor dog looked like he'd been holed up there fer days, covered in crusted blood, flies all over 'im. He could barely move. It was bad. Think he got tangled up with a wild boar or a cougar, maybe a bear. Wasn't nothin' we could do fer 'im, his wounds were all nasty an' infected, had maggots crawlin' all over 'im, his guts was hangin' out where somethin' tore 'im open. Pop said tha' best thing we could do fer 'im was put 'im outta his misery. Ain't tha' same as a person, but I learnt then that sometimes tha' best thing is the hardest thing ta do."

"Yeah, my mom always said that if it feels easy it's probably because it's the wrong thing to do. Said it's always harder to walk the walk than talk the talk. I never really understood what she meant before," Alex replied as she opened the driver's door. "Let's get back home."

Jake nodded in agreement and made his way to the passenger's seat.

The ride back to the ranch was silent. Alex considered stopping by to check on their other neighbors, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, not if there was a good chance of coming across a similar scene as they'd found at the Johnson's. There had to be other's that were still alive, it couldn't just be her and Jake, could it?

Once back at the Lazy H, Alex and Jake silently gathered wood to build a fire to cremate the bodies. By the time they were ready to light it, the sun was just going down, painting the sky in brilliant shades of crimson and copper. Jake gently laid the bodies on the pyre, then doused the pile with lighter fluid. As Jake stepped back, Alex lit a match and tossed it into the pile. Flames immediately erupted and began devouring the fuel soaked branches.

They had built the fire in the middle of a meadow not far from the barn. The area was clear, so the fire wouldn't spread, even if the breeze blew the embers around. Even though it was early October, the year had been very dry and the fire risk in this part of the state was very high. It wouldn't do them any good to set the mountain on fire and lose their hunting grounds. Reality was setting in and it seemed like they would be living off the land for the foreseeable future. No reason to take unnecessary risks.

Alex and Jake stood back from the fire, each lost in their own thoughts. It had been a long, confusing day, and it didn't look like there would be any answers coming their way soon. As the bodies finally started to catch fire, Alex reached out for Jake's hand, needing some comfort as she watched the flames engulf the bodies of people she'd known most of her life. Jake didn't say anything, just weaved his fingers in hers and continued to stare into the fire.

Time passed slowly as they continued to stand there. The darkness slowly swallowed the landscape around them until they could no longer see anything beyond the shadows cast by the flames. Jake squeezed Alex's hand before letting it go so he could throw more brush on the pile - the bodies weren't completely burned yet and they needed to add more wood to complete the job. Alex followed his lead, adding more brush that they had gathered earlier. When the flames were once again leaping over their heads, they both stepped back to avoid the heat emanating from the blaze.

Alex was the first to break the silence. "So what now?"

Jake knew she wasn't talking about the fire, she was talking about life. What were they supposed to do now? "Mmm… dunno," he grunted.

"Ya think we should go into town now?" she asked, unsure if she wanted his answer to be yes or no.

"What'd tha' purpose be fer goin' in? Lookin' fer people? Lookin' fer supplies? What if it's just more a' what we saw today?" His instincts told him that town was going to be bad, and he knew that they were safe here, at least for the time being.

"I think we gotta see if we can get some answers about all this. I mean, if nothing else, we might be able to figure out if there's a plan or something. I just feel like we have to check it out. What if there's some sort of refugee camp or evacuation center?" she asked simply.

"Don't know 'bout you, but I don' I wanna be stayin' with a bunch of refugees. Don't sound safe. But yer right, we should go check it out. I jus' think we gotta be real smart an' careful 'bout it," he cautiously replied.

They stood there for a while longer, watching the flames as they processed the conversation. Suddenly, Alex heard groaning coming from the dark beyond the circle of light cast by the flames. Jake heard the groans at the same time, and they pulled their guns in unison, facing the sounds. They waited. As the groans got closer, they could also hear the shuffling of feet. Alex was pretty sure it was only one… one what, zombie, undead, monster?

Jake nudged Alex's arm and nodded, indicating that he would take the lead. Soon the shuffling body came into view; Alex's heart dropped to her feet as she recognized Manny.


	3. Chapter 3 - Day Four, Part Two

**Day 4 (continued)**

**Chapter 3 : A Sad Surprise**

**Jake's POV**

Jake took a step forward, gun still aimed at Manny's head. "Manny, stop right there," he forced out. Manny continued to shuffle forward, growling now and reaching for them with his left arm.

Manny was a mess; his clothes were covered in dried blood and dirt, his shirt was torn and half his pant leg was missing. His right arm hung loosely at his side and his right leg dragged a little when he walked.

Jake instinctively stepped in front of Alex, keeping between her and Manny, who was now almost within arm's reach. Jake told him to stop again, this time with more force. Manny still didn't stop. Jake shot him in the shoulder; Manny didn't even flinch, just kept moving forward.

As Jake cocked his gun again and aimed for Manny's head, a gunshot came from right behind him and the back of Manny's head exploded. Jake turned to see Alex lower her gun as she started towards the body. Jake reached out to stop her but she shrugged his hand away. He watched as she confidently stepped forward, coming to a stop as she stood over Manny. Jake saw the cold look in her eyes, like she was detached from the scene before her.

Jake knew that look. That coldness. It was her "hunter" look. He remembered the first time he'd seen it:

_Alex was twelve and it was slaughtering time for the hogs. She'd been in 4-H ever since he'd moved to the ranch, but in those five years, she'd never had to slaughter one of her prize pigs. Her parents thought that twelve was the right age to introduce her to that aspect of ranch life. She'd helped when Koko killed chickens for dinner and helped clean the various animals that she and Jake brought back from hunting. But those were all wild animals, animals she hadn't raised from babies to full grown hogs. They didn't have names like Mr. Wiggles. Mr. Wiggles was the one that was up for slaughter that fall. He was just over a year old and Alex had won a 2nd place medal for him at the county fair that summer. Her parents had decided that this year, Mr. Wiggles would be the 'guest of honor' for their annual Christmas pig roast, and Alex was in charge (under Jake's guidance) of making him ready for the feast. _

_After her parents had explained to her their plan, Alex had cried and tried to get them to change their minds. But her father was adamant that this was how things worked on a farm and that she needed to understand and learn how to do these things. Alex had shown up at the bunkhouse after dinner that night and cried to Jake about how unfair it was. Jake wasn't really sure how to deal with the situation - he rarely had to deal with a crying Alex, she barely even cried when she was injured. But he listened to her until she was finished, then patiently explained to her that that was the purpose of raising pigs - they were food animals, and tasty ones at that. They talked about all the different types of pork that Alex liked to eat and he explained where each cut of meat came from. He ran through the basic process, explaining what he thought would be the most shocking parts for her to see, trying to prepare her for the following day. _

_When Alex no longer had any questions, he sent her off to bed, with one final thought. "Ya gotta remember, kid, we all got jobs ta do. Mr. Wiggles' job is ta feed yer family. Yer job is ta get 'im ready ta do that. They trust that yer old 'nough, smart 'nough an' tough 'nough for that big responsibility. T'was yer job to raise 'im, make sure he's healthy and fat 'nough for tha feast. You done most a' that already. Now all that's left is gettin' 'im to tha table. That's tha easy part. Ya already done tha hard work, kid." He winked at her as she turned to walk to the main house. _

_After a couple of steps, Alex turned back and said, "I wish I had an easier job." _

"_Don't worry kid, someday a harder job'll come along an' you'll be wishin' it was as easy as this 'un," Jake said, more to himself than to her. "I'll see ya in tha' mornin', Al," he said as she turned and followed the path back to the main house. _

_The next morning, Alex arrived at the bunkhouse when she was supposed to and she and Jake made their way to the pig pens. Alex separated Mr. Wiggles from the rest of the pigs and loaded him on the back of the truck. Jake drove to the small slaughterhouse they had a little ways from the barn. He explained the process to Alex again, this time showing her the various tools they would be using and the hoist they would use to hang the pig to bleed it out. As she looked at the hoist, then back to Mr. Wiggles, Jake watched as her face hardened, her eyes turned cold and her stance became more rigid. Without another word, Alex led the pig out of the truck over to the hoist, took the bolt gun, pressed it to the pig's head and fired, leaving him unconscious on the ground. Alex then pulled the hooks down from the hoist, and hooked the pigs back legs, just above the hooves. She nodded to Jake, who pressed a lever and raised the hoist, leaving the pig hanging upside down. Jake rotated the hoist so that the pig was hanging over the drain and locked it in place. Before he could say anything, Alex pulled the hunting knife that Jake always carried from it's sheath at his waist, stepped back to Mr. Wiggles and slit his throat cleanly. Mr. Wiggles let out a high pitched squeal before going silent. Alex just stood there and watched as the blood poured out and down the drain. _

_Jake watched her, concerned a bit about the cold, heartless look that had taken over her face. "You ok, Al?"_

"_Yep. Gotta be. Gotta do my job," was all she said to him in reply._

**Alex's POV**

Alex let her gun dip toward the ground as Manny shuffled further into the fire light. She watched as Jake took a step forward, gun still aimed at Manny's head. "Manny, stop right there," she heard Jake say half-heartedly. Manny continued to shuffle towards them, growling now and reaching for them with his left arm. Alex could see that his clothes were torn and it looked like he'd sustained some sort of injury to his right arm, which hung loosely at his side. Dried blood covered his torn shirt and there was something clearly wrong with his right leg - it dragged behind him awkwardly.

Alex was shocked into silence. She'd known Manny her entire life. He and Danny used to tie her to the back of Missy, the old mare, and watch her as they worked around the barn when she was like three. Why the fuck was this happening?

Jake stepped in front of Alex, keeping between her and Manny, who was now almost within arm's reach. She heard Jake tell him to stop again. Manny didn't stop. Alex watched as Jake shot him in the shoulder; Manny didn't even flinch, just kept moving forward. She couldn't take it anymore. Her trance finally broken, Alex raised her gun and shot him between his dead vacant eyes.

Instinctively, she moved towards the body. She felt Jake's hand on her shoulders but automatically shrugged him off. She moved to inspect her kill. Standing over Manny's body, she looked over his wounds, trying to picture what had happened to him. His shoulder looked like it had been gnawed on, his shirt was ripped and blackened, dried blood stained the front of it. The gaping wound itself looked like rotten hamburger meat. She turned her attention to his right leg. His pants we also soaked with blackened dried blood, a large part of his right pant leg was torn off, and it looked like something had eaten away most of Manny's thigh and calf muscle, causing his leg to drag slightly.

Alex concluded that Manny had been attacked by at least one of the undead. He didn't seem to have any obvious defensive wounds, aside from the blood under his left finger nails as well as some scratches on that same hand. She briefly inspected the hole left by her gunshot, internally congratulating herself on her precision.

"We should gather some more brush and build up the fire," she said matter-of-factly. "Since we're already at it, might as well add him to the pile. Not like I'm gonna sleep tonight anyway," she said as she holstered her gun and stepped into the darkness, heading for the barn.

She wanted to grab an old horse blanket to wrap him in: the one that Manny had used when when she was little and he'd tied her to the old mare. Alex flipped on the barn lights and made her way to the tack room. She found the blanket she was looking for at the bottom of the pile of horse blankets. It hadn't been used in years, probably not since she started riding on her own at age six. It was a bit beat up and smelled a bit musty, but it would serve her purpose just fine.

One her way back out, Alex grabbed some cord from the supply room and shoved it in her pocket to use to secure the blanket around the body. She shut the lights off and headed back to the fire, grabbing the lighter fluid from the tailgate of her truck as she passed.

Stepping back into the circle of fire light, Alex tossed the lighter fluid to Jake, then spread the blanket out on the ground next to Manny's body. Jake helped her pick up Manny and put him on the blanket so they could wrap him in it. Alex pulled the cord from her back pocket and they silently tied him up, tucking the ends in, like a neat little package.

Alex moved her truck so she could use the headlights to see the brush they were gathering for the fire. Jake joined her in the gathering, piling branches high on the fire, getting it nice and hot. When they had piled on some of the larger branches, Alex took the lighter fluid and doused the horse blanket with it before Jake helped her toss Manny's body on the blaze.

Alex sat on the tailgate, her glazed eyes staring through the fire, thinking back on all the times Manny had helped her out or taught her how to do something. Jake wasn't the only one the had taught her how to be independent and self-sufficient. Manny had taken a liking to her as a small child and never minded keeping an eye out for her around the ranch. Manny was like an uncle to her. And she'd put a bullet between his eyes.

"This fucking sucks," she muttered to herself as she sat on the tailgate staring into the fire and watching Manny's body burn. Jake was pulling brush closer to the fire for them to add later. She heard him behind her as he turned the truck off. He then joined her on the tailgate.

"You ok?" he asked quietly.

"Mmmhmm," she replied, not taking her eyes off the fire.

"Ya hungry? Ain't had nothin' ta eat since b'fore we went ta tha Johnson's. I kin go rustle somethin' up in tha bunkhouse for ya," he offered.

"Nah, I'm okay. Don't really have the stomach for it right now." She took her eyes from the fire and looked at Jake, "I'll take one of those cigarettes you got in your pocket, though." She'd smoked a few cigarettes over the years, mostly one's she'd stolen from Jake when he wasn't paying attention. It'd never really been something she'd enjoyed, but it seemed like the right thing to do right now.

Jake looked at her for a moment before reaching in his shirt pocket. "Yer parent's'll kill me if they knew I gave ya one," he said, instantly regretting bringing up her parents. "I won't tell 'em though… after tha day we've had, I think ya deserve it," he said as he handed her a smoke, taking one as well. He flipped his Zippo open and held the flame out to her, then lit his own.

They sat and smoked in silence for a while, both staring at the burning bodies in the fire. Alex was the first to break the silence. "You know, this isn't the first cigarette you've provided to me," she said with a little grin.

"Yeah, I know. Ya think I wouldn't notice when they went missin'? S'not like I smoke so many tha' I lose track," he said with a grin of his own.

"Why didn't you ever say anything? Here I thought I was sneaky," Alex pulled her mouth into a pout for effect.

"Sorry ta burst yer bubble, kid. Ya cain't pull tha wool over my eyes. Never said nothin' cuz I figured ya'd either make yerself sick or get caught by yer parents. Either way, t'was yer lesson ta learn, not mine ta teach," Jake ended with a little chuckle. "Guess ya never got sick, huh?"

"Nope. And my parents were never around enough to notice anyway. Even if they were, I doubt they woulda said anything to me. They pretty much always left me to figure things out for myself. Guess that applies now too." She could feel the tears prickle at the back of her eyes at the thought, but she refused to allow them to fall.

Alex finished her cigarette, hopped off the tailgate and tossed the butt in the fire. She threw a couple more branches on the fire, then tossed a couple of logs in as well. The fire had burned through most of the Johnson's remains, but Manny was going to take a while longer.

It was well past midnight and the night was chilly away from the fire. Alex made her way back to the truck and leaned against the tailgate next to Jake. "I suppose we should toss the rest of the logs on and call it a night. I still don't think I can sleep, but I think I'm ready to head to the house. Can't stand this smell anymore," Alex said as she wrinkled her nose. "Never occurred to me just how bad it would smell burning a body."

"Well, let's get to it then. I'm beat," Jake said, hopping to his feet and heading for the pile of logs he'd gathered.


	4. Chapter 4 - Day five

**Day 5**

**Chapter 4: All in A Day's Work**

**Alex's POV**

The next morning, Alex was up with the sun. Though they had been up until almost two a.m. tending to the fire, Alex couldn't get her mind quiet long enough for sleep to find her. She and Jake had both crashed on the couches in the living room, neither of them wanting to sleep alone. Alex quietly slipped on her boots and headed outside, strapping her holster around her waist as she went. Throughout the night, her mind kept coming back to one thought - where had Manny come from? Given the state of his leg and the arm wound she'd seen, there should be an easy enough trail to follow. Perhaps she would find some answers, or at least figure out what the right questions to ask were.

The remains of the fire were still smoldering and Alex could make out some larger pieces of bone as they poked out of the ashes. She pushed passed that thought and studied the ground around where Manny had fallen. They hadn't turned the ground over, so the stains of his blood and brains stood out clearly in the early dawn light. Alex was right, there was a clear backtrail to follow. She walked quickly, following the the tracks to the creek and downstream, eventually coming to the wide, shady part of the creek where Jake had tied up a tire swing over the water for her when she was ten. Alex looked around, seeing the tracks led into the water. There was a small foot bridge, really it was two long 4x6 boards that they'd nailed together ages ago. The boards bowed as she reached the middle, but didn't break. The tracks picked up on the other side.

Following the trail at a half-trot, Alex quickly realized that Manny had come from the eastern pasture, where he and Allen had been repairing the fences the last day Jake had seen them. She followed the dirt road and as she rounded the corner into the meadow, she could see Manny's truck parked near the fence. She slowed her pace, wanting to be cautious since she wasn't sure what she might find.

From afar, everything looked ok, like they had just stopped in the middle of working, breaking for lunch or something. Tools were still out, barbed wire ready to be strung across a damaged part of the fence line. The birds that had been happily chirping since she had been outside were suddenly quiet, and Alex felt the hairs on her neck prickle. Something was off. She pulled her gun and clicked off the safety, scanning the area for clues. As Alex approached the truck, she could make out the same groaning sound she'd heard before Manny appeared at the fire. She was not surprised to find Allen's body on the ground on the passenger side. She wasn't ready for the condition his body was in, however. His legs had been mostly gnawed away and his stomach had been torn open, spilling his guts all over the ground. When he heard her approach, Allen began pulling himself towards her. Alex quickly raised her gun and shot Allen in the head. The gunshot echoed through the hills.

She walked around a bit, looking for tracks, more signs to point to what had happened here. Alex found several sets of footprints, messy and shuffling, that came from the gap in the fence. She assumed that those were from the undead that had eaten Manny and Allen. She looked around, trying to see where they led away from the truck. Alex found the trail; it looked like they both wandered off in the same direction, further up the mountain and away from the creek and barn. They must have been distracted by something, wandered off after a sound or a smell… wait, did they have a sense of smell? Could they hear? In her three interactions with these... undead, it was clear that they had sensed her presence somehow - Mr. Johnson was drawn to the front glass either by their sounds or their movement, as was Mrs. Johnson; Manny had been drawn either by the sound, sight or smell of the fire, and Allen had just moved towards her once she had walked around the truck. Alex wasn't even sure how they operated, how they found prey. She didn't like being at a disadvantage when it came to hunting. She was used to knowing everything about the game she was after. And she certainly was not used to being the prey.

Alex figured she'd only been out for about thirty minutes. She didn't want Jake to wake alone and worry about her, but she also didn't want to let the two... wandering dead that she knew for sure were on the property wander off unchecked. She wanted to dispose of the threat. She knew that they were going to need to repair the fence so that no more could just walk onto the Lazy H, but it was a two person job and it was going to have to wait. Alex tossed the tools in the back that had been leaning against the side, then moved the truck so it was right up against the fence, blocking the gap. That would hopefully solve the problem until they could get back up here and permanently repair it. Then she set out after the... walking dead.

After following the trail for a few minutes, Alex saw that they seemed to be following a deer, its tracks mingled with the dead's. The tracks were at least a day old. Continuing on, Alex came to a clearing. It was one of her favorite spots to look out over the Lazy H, being able to see for miles around. Alex paused to look in the direction she knew their neighbors were, hoping to see a smudge of smoke from a chimney or some other symbol of normal life, but she didn't see anything; no trace of life.

Bringing herself back to the task at hand, Alex went back to looking for the … biters and the deer. She didn't have to look long. Towards the edge of the clearing, in the direction she had been heading, she could see a hunched over figure. Gun still in hand from her earlier encounter, Alex stealthily moved towards the occupied undead man. She was certain she hadn't made any noise - she could move silently in the woods after all - but when she was about fifteen feet away, the … walker turned in her direction and began ambling towards her. Alex quickly took note of the wind - it was blowing her scent right towards him. Well, that answered one question- they apparently could smell.

As the walker got closer, Alex was saddened to see that it was Old Man Wheeler, from the next ranch over - the opposite direction of the Johnson's ranch. His place shared a fence line with the Lazy H. Maybe that's why Old Man Wheeler was in the area. Alex didn't bother trying to talk to him; she could see his glazed eyes and grey skin, not to mention the blood stains that covered the front of his coveralls. She raised her gun and fired.

She checked Old Man Wheeler's body, looking for wounds, but she didn't see any other than the one she had just inflicted on him. None of the blood was his. So far, all the undead they had seen had been torn up in some way, bitten or partially eaten. But this one was still dead, just without a bite. Did that mean Mr. Wheeler had died of natural causes and then come back to life? She would have to talk to Jake about it.

Shit. Jake. It was now well past sunrise, she'd probably been gone just over an hour, and she was sure he could hear the gun shots if he was awake. She needed to get back to the house and they needed to make a plan. But she didn't want to leave the other ... undead wanderer out here. She went to the deer, then started make small circles outward looking for tracks. She finally found them, headed off the trail and into the bushes, further from home. Alex followed into the underbrush, hoping this would be quick. She moved as quickly and quietly as she could, stopping every now and then to check the trail.

She had paused a moment to rest, leaning up against a tree, when the undead she was tracking stumbled out of the bushes next to her. He was a bit faster than the others she'd encountered thus far, and she was caught off guard. He was on her before she could pull her gun, and they tumbled to the ground. Alex tried to keep the snapping jaws away from her body with her left hand while trying to reach her gun with her right. As her left arm began to give out, she gripped the gun, stuck it to the dead man's ear and fired. She was immediately rewarded with a faceful of blood and brain matter. The dead weight on top of her made it hard to breath - which she tried to achieve without swallowing some of the nasty shit on her face.

Alex managed to wiggle her way out from under the body, pulling her shirt off and trying to wipe some of the gore off her mouth before she began puking. She'd never had a close call like that before. Plenty of injuries over the years, but she'd never actually thought she might die. She remained hunched over, hands on knees for a few minutes, willing her stomach to calm itself so she could get a move on. She heard something moving in the bushes, then she couldn't hear anything else over the sound of her retching.

**Jake's POV**

Jake woke to light in his eyes. He was surprised he'd slept that late. It had been years since he'd slept past sunrise, considering he was usually out working on the ranch by first light. He stretched, letting out a loud yawn, as he came up to a sitting position. He saw that Alex was already up, he figured she'd had a rough night. He'd listened to her toss and turn before he nodded off. He rose and moved to the couch she'd been on, feeling to see if it was still warm. It wasn't. Damn. That meant she'd been up for a while. He didn't hear anything around the house to indicate she was there and he noticed her boots were no longer by the back door as he made his way to the bathroom. After finishing with his business, he looked around further and noticed that her holster was also gone. Fuck. That meant she'd gone out on the ranch by herself. He had a pretty good idea where she would have headed. He quickly tugged on his boots and strapped his holster to his waist as he hurried out the door.

Jake arrived at the remains of the fire and looked at the ground. Sure enough, Alex's boot prints were there and they headed off in the direction of Manny's back trail. He'd been tracking her since she was a child, to him, her footprint was just as clear as looking at her face. He quickly followed the trail along the creek, crossing at the rickety foot bridge at the old tire swing. He remembered putting that up for Alex years ago and the thrilled look she got on her face the first time he pushed her out over the water. He could still hear her ten year old squeals of joy at being pushed higher and higher.

He found their tracks on the far bank and realized they were heading for the eastern pasture; he quickened his pace and arrived shortly. He noticed Manny's truck was pulled in front of the gap they were supposed to fix last week. He assessed the area, looking for Alex's tracks. He saw Allen's remains on the ground. "What a fuckin' mess," he muttered to himself. There was barely anything left of him. He found Alex's tracks, heading further up the mountain, following what looked to be two sets of undead tracks. They were staggered and all over place - no one except a drunk would walk like that. As he started on their trail, a gunshot rang out.

Jake ran up the trail, hoping Alex was ok. He was worried about that shot. She had to know she was following two walkers, why only one shot? Trying to ignore all the bad thoughts that started crowding his mind Jake continued to sprint up the trail. When he reached the meadow, he saw the body of Old Man Wheeler a few feet from the carcass of a deer. Didn't look like she'd had any problems taking him out. Again, Jake began scouring the ground, looking for Alex's prints. He found them, heading off the trail and into the underbrush. She was following the other walker. He silently cursed the girl for being so headstrong, for coming out here and doing this without him.

Just as he crawled into the bushes, another gunshot went off. She was close. Hopefully everything was ok. He crashed through the brush, not caring about being stealthy. He ignored the trail and headed towards the gunshot. Just as he was about to start shouting her name, Jake could hear retching ahead and to his right. He came crashing through the brush just as Alex began vomiting again.

"Al! Thank christ yer ok… wait, you ARE ok, right?" his momentary relief at seeing her immediately turned to panic as he realized she was covered in blood, in just her bra and she couldn't stop wretching.

All she could do was nod in his direction between what were now dry heaves. Jake closed the distance between them and looked her over. He couldn't see any bites or scratches. He squatted down and ran his hands over her legs, making sure he wasn't missing something. Satisfied that she was not hurt, he put his hand on her back and rubbed gently while she heaved. She seemed to be calmer than when he first arrived and her dry heaving was slowing. He passed her the handkerchief that he always carried in his pocket, she took it with a shaky hand and slowly came up to standing.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "Had a pretty close call with that one, caught me off guard. Won't let that happen ever again," Alex finished darkly.

"I'm just glad yer ok. What tha hell happened? Do you know who that was? I don't recognize him." Jake asked as he removed his flannel long sleeve shirt and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said as she put the shirt on. Alex rubbed her hands on her pants trying to get the blood off, but it was just making it worse. "I think it's the Wheeler's son-in-law. I only met him once, years ago, but I'm pretty sure it's him. As for the rest, I'll tell you on the way back to the house. I need to get this shit offa me."

**(Author's POV)**

Alex filled Jake in on everything, from finding the truck in the pasture to shooting Allen and following the other undead. She explained how Old Man Wheeler knew she was coming when she was fifteen feet behind him and that the wind had been blowing her scent towards him.

When she told Jake that Old Man Wheeler had no wounds on him except for where she shot him in the head, Jake stopped walking. "So anyone who dies comes back an' starts walkin' an' eatin' people… so it don't matter how ya die, bitten or no', tha result's tha same. Fuck. No wonder thangs went ta shit ina matter uh days. I bet tha's what happened at tha clinic in town. Someone musta died, come back an' started eati' people… bet tha place was overrun in no time," Jake toed the ground with his boot as he finished his thought.

"You're probably right," she said, nudging his shoulder before continuing back down the trail. "I was thinkin' we should fix that hole in the fence, that's why I pulled the truck in front of it, hoping it would keep any more out until we can make the repair. Don't think it'll take too long, maybe a couple hours. You wanna knock it out today? We can get started after we eat somethin' and I change my damn clothes. Think I gotta burn this shirt… never thought I'd have to wonder if brain stains would come outta my clothes."

"Sounds good. Then we should check tha fence line ta make sure there ain't any more gaps. Danny an' I walked it three weeks ago, that's when we found this one. The one Danny an' I were workin' on is tha' spot where tha' damn cows like ta' graze over tha fence. I don' know what it is 'bout tha' grass there, but every year they manage ta break tha top wire. Keep tellin' yer parents tha' we should put in an electric fence, but they won't budge. Woulda been a great thing to have in place now, though."

"Imagine the smell, though. Those biters lining up against the fence, just burning. I'll pass on that, thanks," she snarked at him.

"Biters? That what'cher callin' 'em?"

"I don't know what to call 'em. The undead? Wandering dead? Walking dead? Biters? If I gotta kill them, I don't want to call them Mr. Johnson or Old Man Wheeler or Allen. It's like what you told me after I had to kill Mr. Wiggles, don't name things ya gotta kill... If they're all just walkers or biters, then I'm not killin' a person. The person they were is already gone."

"Walkers… sounds good as anythin' I guess." Jake decided to leave the rest of her statement untouched. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about it yet, though he was pretty sure she was right. After all, she'd killed five of them to his one and almost been killed in the process.

They reached the house and Alex made a beeline for her room. Jake went ahead and made them breakfast - bacon, scrambled eggs and toast. By the time Alex was showered and dressed, Jake had the table set and food ready to go.

"I have a theory," Alex said as she sat down at the table.

"Let's hear it," he replied before stuffing his mouth full of eggs.

"I think the walkers can smell us AND hear us. I know for sure Old Man Wheeler smelled me, and I'm pretty sure Allen heard me walk up. When I was looking for tracks around the truck, I saw the walker tracks where they came through the hole in the fence. My guess is that they were attracted to the sounds of the guys pounding the new fence stakes into the ground."

Jake just nodded, knowing that she wasn't finished yet.

"Following that train of thought, we should probably try to use the knives more and the guns less. I mean, I'm sure the echos make it hard to pinpoint a location, but if everyone is turning into these things, we should probably try to be as quiet as possible… I think it's a safe bet that there's more of them than there are of us," she finished, immediately shoving a piece of toast in her mouth. "Also, I think we gotta kill the brain; Manny didn't stop until I shot him in the head, Allen and Mrs. Johnson were both basically just parts and they didn't stop moving until the head shot either."

Jake finished chewing his last piece of bacon. "Sounds like a reasonable theory to me. I don' really like tha idea of havin' ta get close enough ta kill 'em with a knife though. Too much room for error. Didn't yer dad bring some silencers back from one 'a his trips last year?" he asked hopefully.

Alex practically choked on the mouthful of eggs she was inhaling more than chewing. "Fuck! Of course! I can't believe I didn't think of it. Dad bought silencers for the AR-15's and Beretta's. I think there's one for the M-16 as well. Never thought I'd be so happy that my dad was an obsessive gun collector."

Stuffing the last bite of toast in her mouth with a flourish, Alex stacked their plates and deposited them in the kitchen sink. She and Jake headed to the gun room; Alex unlocked the door and held it open so Jake could walk through. They quickly went to the wall and pulled the AR-15's down. Alex had never been so happy that her father was OCD about this room. All of the guns were arranged on hooks along the two longest walls, each labeled with the name of the gun that belonged there. On the short walls, he had built custom cabinets and drawers to house the myriad accessories that he'd collected over the years. Each drawer was labeled with it's contents, making it a cinch for Alex to find what she was looking for.

"Hey, there are silencers for the Glock's too," she said pulling them out of the drawer. "Only thing is, with the silencer attached, they won't fit in the holsters," she frowned.

Jake looked at his holster. "I think I can modify 'em so they'll work, but we don't really need 'em right now. Let's jus' take the AR's an' our knives an' get tha' fence done."

Alex grabbed her daypack from where she'd dropped it by the back door when they got back from dealing with the Johnson's. She took the ammo for the Glock's out and replaced it with extra clips of ammo for the AR's. Jake slung his AR over his shoulder, grabbed the pack and headed out of the room. Alex slipped another sheathed hunting knife to her belt, slipped the gun strap over her shoulder and followed him out, locking the door behind her.

They drove back to the eastern pasture in Alex's Chevy. When they arrived, Alex was disappointed to see that two more of her neighbors were mindlessly pressing up against the fence, behind the truck. It was Mrs. Wheeler and her twelve year old daughter, Erin. Jake jumped out before Alex could say anything, dispatching both the walkers with his knife through their eye sockets. It was gruesome, but effective.

Jake wiped his knife on Mrs. Wheeler's shirt, replacing it in the sheath on his belt as he opened the door to Manny's truck. The keys were still in the ignition - they usually left the keys in the vehicles on the Lazy H, since there was no worry about someone stealing them. He started it easily, then pulled it back to where Manny had originally parked it.

Alex pulled her work gloves from her truck, then got to work pulling the bodies of Mrs. Wheeler and Erin out of the work area, back into the brush where they couldn't be seen. She quickly gathered the tools that they needed to complete the job. Luckily, most of the hard work had already been done by Manny and Allen. There was only one more new post that needed to be pounded into the ground, then it was just pulling the barbed wire.

Jake and Alex worked quickly and quietly, barely needing to speak for the other to know what was needed. They had done this particular job so many times over the years that muscle memory basically took over. They kept the guns close, one or the other of them constantly scanning their surroundings to make sure they didn't get caught by surprise. After a couple of hours of good hard work, they finished pulling the last wire and were finally finished. After loading the tools and supplies in Manny's truck, Alex picked up their guns, handing Jake his.

"What'dya think, Al, should we collect tha bodies an' burn 'em too? Don't feel right jus' leavin' 'em here," Jake said, kicking the tires to the truck. "Shouldn't take long to go get tha' ones up tha hill."

"Yeah, we should care for them as best we can. I wouldn't want my parents just left out to rot. Hop in, I'll drive," Alex replied.

They made it most of the way up the trail without having to switch to 4-WD, but the last little bit before the meadow was pretty steep and rocky, requiring the extra traction. It didn't take long to get Old Man Wheeler, but it did take some time to get his son-in-law out of the brush. There wasn't enough room to properly carry him, so Jake did what Alex had done - rolled the body onto the tarp that Alex kept in her truck, then pulled him out of the brush. Alex helped by navigating and helping to remove branches and other obstacles. It was a lot more work than they'd intended and after twenty minutes of trying to drag the tarp through the brush, Jake was ready to give it up. But Alex had such a look of determination on her face that he kept his mouth shut and plodded on. It took almost forty minutes to get him out of the brush and into the truck.

By the time they got back to the barn it was late afternoon and the sun was getting low in the sky. There was still plenty of brush and logs to be used for a fire, but they would need to drag it pretty far to get it to their burn spot near the barn. After the day they'd had, it was too much work. Jake decided they should burn in a different location, closer to a good fuel source. There was a good area not far from the main house that they had cleared in the spring and there were several brush piles that they had yet to burn.

Alex stopped at the barn for supplies while Jake went ahead with the bodies in Alex's truck. They had used most of the can of lighter fluid the previous night, but they always kept some diesel fuel in a sprayer that they used to start the brush piles when they burned in the winter when the piles were soaking wet. Alex found the sprayer in the supply room, then walked towards the main house to meet Jake. She left Manny's truck at the barn.

Jake had already piled the brush high when she arrived. She helped him throw some larger logs on top, then sprayed the diesel on the pile. Jake tossed a couple of lit matches in and they stood back, watching the flames grow. After a while, the fire was hot enough to start adding bodies. They put the Erin and Mrs. Wheeler on first. Alex instantly regretted that they had not wrapped the bodies in something this time. It was hard to pull her eyes away from the burning, melting flesh.

Jake came up behind her and nudged her shoulder, breaking her gaze at the gruesome fire. "Think we kin leave this ta burn for a while. Why don' we go back to tha' house? Clean up, maybe eat somethin'? I'm starvin."

"I don't even know how you can think about food right now," she said with a grimace. "I can't unsee this shit. It's gonna be stuck with me forever. How the fuck is life supposed to go back to normal after having to do this shit?" She was pacing back and forth, her voice was raised, but not shouting.

"I don' know how we go back. Don' know if we can. Even 'fore tha turn takin' a man's life changed a person, even an accident. Now, when yer life's on tha line an' ya don't got a choice... don't make it any easier. Only thang I'm sure 'bout is when it comes down ta us 'r them, I won't hesitate ta make sure it's us," Jake replied calmly. He stepped back to the fire and added a few more logs before quietly adding, "'Sides, if this thing really is as bad as we think, this could be our new normal."

"Fuck, that's a depressing thought. Now I really don't feel like eating. This fucking sucks, Dixon!" Alex continued pacing, eyes darting back and forth between the fire and the surrounding area. The sun was almost behind the mountain now and the shadows were steadily growing. Never in her entire life had Alex felt uncomfortable or unsafe anywhere on this property and yet, as the evening slowly crept in, she felt a little ball of anxiety growing in her belly. It was an unfamiliar feeling for her, anxiety. She'd only felt it a couple times in her life. The worst was when she'd had to slaughter Mr. Wiggles. After that, not much affected her. Not the drama with girls at school, not silliness with boys. None of that stupid teen bullshit. There was the occasional issue on the ranch that would cause her stress, like a breached calf or injured mare.

But nothing like this.

There was crazy shit going on in the world. Her parents were probably dead. There were possibly threats on her property, lurking in the shadows, with an apparently indiscriminate appetite. This is the thought that made her anxious. The idea that people she spoke to a few days ago were now trying to eat her was just … inconceivable. It didn't make any sense.

Alex needed more answers. They needed to come up with a plan. Not knowing what was out there and what their plan for the future was made her crazy. It went against her instincts to wait for answers to come to her. It was time for action.

"We can't possibly be the only ones left around here," she started. "We need to do something, we can't just wait around here for answers. Tomorrow we need to check the fencelines, make sure there's no more gaps. I don't want anymore of our neighbors wandering in here ... uninvited."

Jake stood staring at the fire, listening to every word Alex said. She was right. He nodded at her. "Should lock tha gate, too, jus' in case. We prolly don' wan' anyone drivin' up 'ere uninvited neither. I hate ta say it, Al, but thangs are prolly pretty fuckin' bad out there, 'specially if lots of folks have ended up like tha Wheeler's. Might be people lootin' an' stuff in town, maybe even out this far. Yer right though, we can't be the only ones left 'round here. I'm sure we'll find someone in town, maybe some from tha surroundin' farms, too."

Jake watched as Alex's pacing finally stopped. Her shoulders relaxed slowly as the fight left her and she unclenched her fists. He approached her from behind cautiously, not wanting to startle her, placing his hand between her shoulders, then slowly bringing his arm around her shoulders as he stood next to her. He squeezed her to his body quickly, letting her know that she had his support. "We'll get this figured out, Al. Fix tha' fences tomorrow, maybe head inta town day after that. First we gotta eat somethin' though. Ain't gonna be no good at nothin' if we don' eat."

Alex leaned into Jake's side, enjoying the warmth and contact. He was right, it had been a long fucking day and she just needed to eat and hopefully sleep. She knew that would go a long way towards making her feel better. "Yeah, I know. Let's head to the house and I'll fix us something to eat. Then we can figure out the plan for tomorrow."

Jake just nodded and led the way to the house.


	5. Chapter 5 - Day Six, Part One

**Day Six**

**Chapter 5: Out on the Ranch**

Alex felt better the next morning. She had made them steak and eggs for dinner last night, the solid meal doing wonders for her state of mind. Then Jake insisted that she take ½ a Xanax from her mom's prescription bottle. They'd argued about it, Alex wanting to be ready for action and Jake insisting that she needed to sleep more than she needed to be on guard. They slept in the gun room as a compromise. He knew she would feel better locked in the secured room, and he didn't mind sleeping on the floor where they'd tossed their sleeping bags.

There were no windows in the gun room, so Alex wasn't sure what time it was when she woke. Not wanting to wake Jake, she tiptoed to the door and unlocked it, slipping silently into the hall. It wasn't long after sunrise, she was glad to see. The kitchen clock read 6:56 a.m. Damn! She'd managed to get 11 hours of sleep! No wonder she felt so much better. Alex got started making breakfast. She decided to make pancakes, gravy, bacon and eggs, something to "stick to their ribs" as Koko always said. They would be away from the house most of the day inspecting the fences, so they needed a hearty meal.

Jake emerged from the gun room shortly after the house started smelling like bacon. She'd left the door cracked - she knew the smell of bacon would get him moving. Alex poured Jake some coffee and set it on the bar, he pulled himself into a stool at the counter and watched her work her way around the kitchen.

"Ya need any help?" he asked, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Nah, I got it. It's weird only making this for two people. Usually when we make pancakes we're feeding a small army." She poured batter onto the hot griddle, then continued stirring the gravy.

"Just about ready," Alex said. "How many eggs you want?"

"Three's good. You sure ya don' need my help? I can stir tha' gravy or fry tha eggs ya know," he said, taking another sip of his coffee. "Not tha' I don't appreciate ya cookin' us up a feast."

Alex flipped the pancakes, then stirred the gravy again. "Alright, you can fry the eggs for us," she said, nodding towards the frying pan she'd gotten out already. "Thanks." She smiled at him as she handed him the spatula and carton of eggs.

"That reminds me, we gotta gather eggs, tend to the pigs and check the gardens. I put the horses out in the southern pasture that first day you were sick so I didn't have to worry about feeding them, but their stalls are a mess and I'm pretty sure irrigation valve needs to be opened for the orchard for a few hours. Hasn't gotten water in about a week now. I haven't done much since the day after I found you sick," Alex said, placing the pancakes on plates. She spooned some gravy on top and added a couple pieces of bacon to each plate. She set them down next to the stove and Jake added their eggs, then carried the plates to the table. Alex brought their coffees and silverware.

"Yeah, I was thinkin' 'bout that. There's so much ta do. I hate ta suggest it, but ya wanna split up? I can check tha fences an' you can get started with tha' gatherin' an' animals. Not sure I'm ok with splittin' up, but we should be ok, we'll be ready," Jake said, digging into his plate.

"As much as I hate the idea, there's just too much to do and not enough hands. What if there's a part of the fence down? You gonna try to fix it yourself?" she asked through a mouthful of pancake.

"The fastest way to check all tha' fencelines is ta take the dirt bike, but then I can't carry any supplies. I'm not really expectin' ta find anythin' down." He swallowed, then added, "Might have ta put some walkers down though. Sure glad we ain't got too many neighbors. If I find anythin' that needs fixin' I'll just finish tha' run an' come back an' getcha. We kin knock out tha repair quick an' then I kin help ya with tha stuff 'round here."

"Sounds good. I'll open the valve for the orchards, then deal with the chickens, pigs and the gardens. I'll save mucking out the stalls for last. Probably need to move the horses to a different pasture too. They've been grazing there for a few days now." Alex finished her last bite of bacon, then used her pancake to sop up the rest of the gravy. "I'm stuffed. Almost feels like everything is back to normal, like a normal weekend on the ranch," she said wistfully.

"'Cept we're gettin' a late start. No way Koko woulda let us eat this late," Jake chuckled. His plate was practically spotless, having used his last bit of pancake to wipe up the rest of the gravy and egg yolk. He finished his coffee as Alex gathered their plates and placed them in the sink. She would have to wash the sinkful of dishes this evening.

"Alright. I'm gonna get a pack ready for ya with a couple sandwiches, apples and some water. Ya want me to stick anything else in there for you?" she asked, pulling sandwich supplies from the fridge.

"Nah, that should hold me over. I'm gonna grab another couple clips for tha gun though, jus' in case." Alex tossed him the keys, Jake went to the gun room and came back with ammo, placing it in the bag she was already packing with his lunch. "I'll stop by tha front gate an' make sure it's locked. Anythin' else ya want me to take care of 'fore I go," he asked, handing her back the keys. He slung the pack over his shoulder and made his way to the back door. He put his boots on and shouldered his gun, the paused to look back at Alex.

"Nope, I think that's it," she said as she walked towards him. "You make sure and be careful out there. Don't take any chances," she put her hand on his arm. "I can't lose you too," she said just barely above a whisper.

Jake put his arms around her and gave her a big hug. "Ya don' gotta worry 'bout me, girl. I'll be jus' fine." He kissed her on the top of her head and pulled away to look at her face. "You be careful too."

**Jake's POV**

After locking the gate, Jake rode the dirt bike along the fenceline, keeping his eyes peeled for anything unusual. When he'd first come to the ranch, they'd spent months clearing a single-lane dirt road on either side of the fence line, for easy access to make repairs. Usually they drove the old '42 Willy's jeep for this type of work, but Jake was pretty sure that there wouldn't be any repairs needed.

He rode through the area they'd repaired the previous day, glad to see that everything was as they'd left it. He'd half expected to come around the corner and see more walkers pressed up against the newly repaired fence.

An hour went by without incident. Jake made his way to the top of the mountain; so far every inch of fence he'd passed was in perfect condition. Another hour and a half and he should be finished. The fence along the ridge of the mountain was clear and in good shape as well. As he started his descent, Jake looked down the long stretch of fence ahead of him and saw some movement. There were several walkers pressing up against the fence, but it seemed to be holding just fine. As he got closer, it seemed like the noise of the bike's engine was riling them up, their movements becoming more frantic.

Jake parked the bike about ten feet from where the walkers were pushing up against the fence. There were three of them, two adults and a young boy of about twelve - the Graham's, from one of the neighboring ranches. He dispatched them quickly with his knife, climbing through the fence to drag their bodies away. They weren't going to be able to take care of them like they had the others, but he still didn't want to just leave them where they lay. He dragged them away from the fence and into the brush.

Jake inspected the fence where they'd been pushing. It looked like it was still in good shape. The wires weren't sagging and the posts were still solidly in the ground. After checking and re-checking it, Jake was satisfied that it would continue to hold and he got back on the bike and moved on.

He finished riding the ridge line, pausing to look down on the valley below. He could see the patchwork quilt of fields and graze land laid out before him. He looked for signs of life - there was a smudge of smoke coming from the old Hogeland place. Maybe he and Alex would go check in on them after they figured out what was going on in town tomorrow. He didn't see much else though. It was disheartening. Every other time he'd looked down on the valley there were trucks moving about from ranch to ranch, smoke coming from chimneys, the picture of normality. Now it was just too quiet.

Jake continued down the mountain. The fence from the mountain ended at the creek, then continued on the far bank. There was no way for him to cross with the bike at this part of the creek, the creek was deep and the banks were high. There was an area to cross a little way upstream, so he carefully rode along the bank, keeping his eyes out for any movement in the area.

When he reached the crossing, Jake quickly rode the bike through the shallow water and up the bank on the far side, turning right to head back to where he'd left the fence line. Once at the fence, he continued to follow it down towards the valley. Things were quiet, the fence was in the same shape as the last time Jake had checked it a few weeks ago.

After about fifteen minutes, Jake reached the southwestern corner of the property. This was the part of the fence that was closest to any of their neighbors' houses, with the Branson house only about 200 feet from the property line. From the fence, Jake could see the main pasture where they grazed their cattle. There were several that looked like they were laying down, napping in the morning sun, but he didn't see any that were standing and grazing. He quickly realized why. The noise of the bike's engine caused the walkers that had been eating several of the downed cattle to turn, then start moving towards the new sound. Jake counted five of them heading his way.

He parked the bike and killed the engine. He flipped the safety off on the AR he had slung over his shoulder, glad to have the silenced weapon, and began to pick the walkers off, one by one. He didn't want to wait for them to make it to the fence so he could take them out with the knife, and he certainly wasn't going to cross the fence line to take them out by hand. After the nailed the final headshot, Jake crossed the fence to inspect the bodies. He was mentally keeping a list of the neighbors who he knew were dead for sure. Some of them he knew were doomsday preppers and would have tons of supplies, should he and Alex need them. Provided they got to them first. He figured they would make those decisions after they saw what the town looked like tomorrow.

Mr. and Mrs. Branson, their two teen sons, Andrew and John, and one of their ranch hands, Joe, had been the walkers in the pasture. Jake had known Joe for years, they'd been hunting buddies before he started taking Alex all the time. They met up a couple times a month at the bar in town, the Tack Room, and shot the shit, Joe sharing all the details of Mr. Branson's growing doomsday shelter and the other goings on at their ranch. All that preparation and they didn't even get to use it.

Jake was knew that the Branson's had two full time ranch hands other than Joe. Though unlikely, Jake thought he should take a quick look around for survivors, just in case.

At the main house, he knocked loudly and waited, listening for any movement inside. The curtains were all drawn, so he couldn't see inside the house. After a few minutes, he still didn't hear anything coming from inside, so he checked the door. It was unlocked, as were most doors in the area, they were so far removed from town that no one out here worried about locking up.

Jake quickly cleared the house; as he suspected, there was no one inside, dead or alive. He then moved to the bunkhouse. This time, after pounding on the door, he heard groaning from inside. Gun at the ready, Jake turned the handle with his left hand and kicked the door open with his foot.

The walkers were close to the door and were pushed back by the force of it being kicked open, the one closest being knocked to the floor. Jake quickly shot the one that was still standing, then the other still on the ground. The rest of the place was clear.

Back outside, Jake moved quickly through the other buildings - a barn and small greenhouse - without incident. He had been right about the number of people to expect on the ranch.

Jake headed back to the fence, through the pasture. He noticed one of the downed cattle was still moving a bit. He altered his course in that direction, wanting to put the poor thing out of it's misery. This cow was a bit further away than the one the Branson's had been eating. As he neared the bovine, Jake started to hear the telltale moans of a walker and he readied his gun.

The sight before him nearly broke his heart: a small child, maybe two years old, was crawling on the ground, disturbed from feeding by the sound of Jake's approaching footsteps. Partially concealed under the body of the cow was a young woman, her torso and legs covered by the cow. Jake had never seen her before.

The baby was slowly getting closer, snapping it's tiny jaws at him. Jake felt his pulse quicken and a sheen of sweat coated his brow. His hands were clammy around the gun. Slowly, Jake raised the weapon to the cow's head and pulled the trigger, stilling the pathetically flailing body. The baby was now within arms length, but still Jake could not bring himself to pull the trigger. He watched as it reached his boots, then started trying to bite them. Jake just watched, as if this were happening to someone else and his life wasn't in danger. The baby began trying to pull itself closer to Jake's leg; cloudy, vacant eyes staring at nothing, jaws snapping and looking for food.

Jake felt anger rising up. This was the most fucked up thing he'd ever seen. What the fuck kind of world did this to a baby? A fucking baby! All of the confusion of the last few days slowly turned to rage inside of him and he lost his senses.

"FUCK!" he screamed as he fired multiple shots at the baby's head. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his curse echoed through the air.

**Alex's POV**

As soon as Jake left, Alex got her work clothes on, stuck a couple of bottles of water in her pack and headed out to her truck, her silenced AK slung over her shoulder and hunting knife at her waist. She was tempted to just drive down to the orchards to turn the water on, but decided at the last minute that the walk would be good, plus she would be better able to hear the mountain around her and be more in tune with her surroundings. Besides, it was only a fifteen minute walk each way and wouldn't make much of an impact on the day's schedule.

The walk down to the orchards was uneventful. In fact, it looked so serene and peaceful, it was like the shit they had seen couldn't touch the beauty of this place. Alex walked to the irrigation box, where the pump pulled water from the creek and sent it through the pvc pipes throughout the orchards, watering the various trees - apple, almond, cherry and mandarin. The mandarin trees were never bountiful, the weather and ground weren't ideal for citrus trees. Alex's great-grandmother, Mabel, had loved mandarin oranges and her great-grandfather, Horace, had planted a few trees as a gift for her one year. Alex had heard the story a hundred times, it was one of her grandmother's favorite stories and she told it any time someone mentioned her parents.

Alex watched as the water began flowing into the rows of trees, filling each little canal before flowing into the next row. It was a maze that Alex had loved watching as a child. She would wait at the edge of the orchard, waiting for the water to come from the creek, then set her little "sailboat" - which was really just a big leaf - on the water. Then she would run down the rows of trees, racing the "sailboat" through the maze. She hadn't thought about that in years. Life was so simple then. She absently picked six small apples from a nearby tree as she remembered happier times, carefully placing each one in her pack.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Alex turned and headed back up the hill towards the house. She was going to get her truck and drive out to the southern pasture to check that there was still enough grass on the ground for the horses to graze. There were only six of them, but they sure could eat. There was plenty of grazing land on the mountain, but only two fenced pastures. During the winter they usually let the horses roam the mountain, grazing as they could. They were pretty well trained, both Jake and Alex had trained them to come when they whistled, assuming they were close enough to hear the whistle.

As she drove up to the enclosure, Alex could tell the horses were spooked, tossing their heads about and pacing the area inside the fences. She began checking the perimeter before the truck was even parked. On the far side of the enclosure from Alex, the fence was a shared property line. Alex could see two walkers pushing up against the fence, arms flailing about trying to reach the horses. The horses were giving that end of the pasture a wide berth.

Alex grabbed her gun and climbed up in the bed of the truck. She didn't want to go into the fenced area with the horses so spooked, so she needed to take the walkers out with the gun. With the horses running around unpredictably, she couldn't get a clear shot on the ground but from the roof of the cab she could. Alex quickly shot the two, one of which remained leaning against the fence. The horses were still spooked, running about and tossing their heads; the smell must have been driving them crazy.

Grabbing her pack from the truck, Alex walked to the old wooden gate of the pasture and leaned on it, whistling to the horses. They remained on edge with nostrils flared and heads tossing back and forth, but they stopped running around in circles and gathered near the gate. Alex considered just letting them out to roam, but she wanted to make sure the fences were all okay first. She looked at the grass; there was still plenty for them to graze, at least for a couple more days.

Alex reached into her pack and pulled out a couple of apples. Placing one on her right palm, she whistled and called Penny's name. The horse pricked up her ears in Alex's direction and pranced over to the gate. She extended her hand with the apple in it and Penny smelled it, then lipped it into her mouth. Alex watched as Penny began chewing. Eventually, green foam started oozing out of the side of the horse's mouth, like some sort of cheesy horror flick special effect. Alex let out a laugh as she palmed another apple for the next horse.

After getting the horses calmed down, Alex climbed the gate and went to take a look at the bodies. She recognized the woman hanging over the fence as their neighbor, Callie Jensen. The older woman that had fallen to the ground was her mother, Widow Jensen. Both bodies had clearly been bitten, Alex thought that it might have been a few days since they'd turned, given the decomposition that had already taken place.

Callie had been her mother's caretaker most of her adult life, foregoing marriage and children to care for the widow after a ranch accident had taken Mr. Jensen twenty years before Alex was even born. Alex's mother and Callie had been close and it saddened Alex to see her life ended this way.

Alex thought about the Jensen ranch. It was just the two women and one or two ranch hands, depending on the time of year. They didn't have a big spread but there was enough work to keep busy, and occasionally Jake would be sent over to help them out. Their house wasn't too far away, if she just climbed the fence and went through the brush. She thought she should go ahead and check out their place, put any walkers down that might be there. It was as much a safety issue for her and Jake as it was a kindness to not let them wander around in that state.

It took about fifteen minutes for her to reach the clearing around the Jensen house. Their ranch truck was parked oddly, both doors open and various personal items strewn around the ground. Alex took a moment to investigate the scene, trying to figure out what happened from the tracks.

She could clearly see three different sets of footprints, the two women had come from inside the truck and moved towards the small barn. It looked like that was where they had been attacked, the ground was stained with blood and guts, and the tracks clearly indicated a struggle had occurred. Alex looked around for the tracks of the attacker; she found them coming from the barn. There should be more tracks though, leading away from the attack.

Alex heard shuffling and groaning from behind the barn, and waited, gun ready, for the figure to appear. When he finally came around the corner, Alex lowered her gun, letting it hang from her shoulder by the strap. She pulled her knife from it's sheath and stepped toward the walker, it was an old man and she didn't think it would take much to put him down; Alex didn't see any reason to waste bullets if she didn't have to. She easily put his knife through his eye and he dropped to the ground at her feet. Alex wiped the blade on his dirty overalls and stuck it back in the sheath at her waist.

The old man was also clearly bitten. His body was more decayed than the women had been, though still probably only about a week dead. Alex had plenty of experience with dead animals and had seen plenty of decaying bodies when she and Jake went out hunting. She'd never seen a dead human before, but the rate of decay was likely the same given similar environmental conditions.

Another groan came from behind her, from behind the barn, and Alex whirled just in time to see another, younger walker almost on top of her. Alex grabbed for her knife, knowing she wasn't going to be able to raise her gun fast enough. Just as the walker was about to grab her, Alex kicked at it's knee, causing him to stagger and fall to the ground. Alex swiftly put the knife through his eye, leaving her knife as she raised her gun and quietly stalked around the barn, looking for other tracks and making sure it was clear. She should have done that in the first place. It was a stupid of her not to clear the area first.

After checking in and around the barn, Alex was satisfied that there weren't anymore imminent threats and she retrieved her knife from the walker that had snuck up on her. Alex moved to clear the house next, quickly finding no one inside. She went back out to the bodies by the barn. She recognized the young man as the Jensen's regular hand. She didn't recognize the older man, though. She went through his pockets to see if he had an ID, but found nothing. She pulled both of the bodies around to the back of the barn, then made her way back to the Lazy H.

At the fence, Alex pulled the bodies away into the brush. It was quickly becoming apparent that they would not be able to burn every body that they came across. She felt a little bad at the thought, but she had to push it away. There was no time to be sad now, there was too much work to do.

Satisfied that the horses were okay in the pasture for at least a couple more days, Alex got back in the truck and went to the barn to check on the chickens and pigs.

She was right, the chicken coop was in a bad state. She had managed to throw some feed to both the chickens and the pigs over the last couple of days, but she hadn't had time to collect the eggs, and some of them had been eaten by the chickens. Alex shooed all of the birds out of the roost and into the yard, then tossed handfuls of feed to them. She grabbed a couple of buckets and a shovel from the barn, then went back and started the clean up, shoveling shit, feathers, egg shells and other debris from the floor into the buckets. After a few trips to the compost pile to dump the buckets, she returned the buckets and shovel to the barn and grabbed her egg basket. Alex collected the remaining eggs and set them in the barn.

Heading over to the pig pens, Alex was pleased to find that things were not in as bad of shape as the chicken coop had been. They were pigs after all, they liked living in a mess. They were hungry, of course. Alex had managed to toss them some food, but they were severely lacking the attention that they were used to. Alex scratched them behind the ears for a bit, then got down to work cleaning out the pen a little and filling their trough up with food.

She then put an assortment of gardening tools in her truck, as well as some baskets and crates that they used for collecting veggies and drove the short distance to the garden.

It was now a little after 11:00 a.m. and Alex was starting to get a little worried about Jake. She figured it should take about two and a half hours to ride the whole fence line, assuming nothing went wrong. She expected to hear the dirt bike anytime now. She took a long drink from the water bottle from her pack and looked out at the garden. They planted things like onions, broccoli, peas, carrots, spinach and lettuce in August for a late fall harvest. Things looked pretty good, but there was definitely some weeding that needed to be done and some late summer vegetables that were ready to be picked as well.

The water for the garden was on an automated drip system, so they never had to worry about watering - someone just had to show up and pick things and keep the weeds from taking over. And of course plant seeds at the right time of year. Manny had usually been the one to take care of planning the garden, what vegetables to plant when and how to rotate them so the soil didn't get depleted of all it's minerals. Alex wished she had known what his plan for the garden was for the coming year. They had a good supply of seeds stored in the barn, and Alex was pretty familiar with what types of plants should be planted during the different seasons, but it would be nice to have someone that knew what they were doing. It suddenly dawned on her the vast amount of information that could be lost simply by one person dying. It was sobering and when Alex thought about the number of people that were likely dying across the country, she quickly tried to turn her mind to something else, unable to comprehend just how devastating this turn of events could be.

Once Alex got to work - she started with pulling weeds - time flew by. She enjoyed the quiet, the only things she could hear were the birds chirping down near the creek. It was a beautiful fall day, but Alex was sweating, sometimes fall in this part of the state meant ninety degree days, and this was almost one of them. When Alex stopped to rehydrate she looked back over the work she'd finished, there were little piles of weeds at the end of each row, and she only had about ten more to go, probably another hour's worth of work at the pace she'd been keeping.

Alex checked her watch, it was almost 1 p.m. Jake should be back by now. They hadn't decided on a plan should one of them not return from the days activities, and if she was going to go look for him, she would have to do it soon since she didn't want to be out after dark. Alex decided to take a quick break. She headed for the creek to cool off for a minute and come up with a plan.

There was a nice shady area on the other side of the garden fence, and Alex quickly made her way to it. Setting her gun down next to her, Alex sat on a rock that hung over the water and pulled off her boots. She stuck her feet in the cool water and sighed in pleasure at the relief it offered. She leaned over the water to cup some in her hands and splashed it over her face, running her wet hands over her hair and neck, taking some deep breaths to relax her mind.

This area of the creek had been one of her favorite hidden play areas when she was young. The trees along the bank were overgrown and this was one of the few areas that the blackberries did not grow profusely along the water. The rocks in the creek created little waterfalls, making the sound of the water all encompassing. She couldn't hear the birds or anything other than the water. It was a beautiful moment.

Alex stared into the brush on the opposite side of the creek, thinking about Jake. She knew he would be upset if she came looking for him and nothing was wrong. At the same time, if something was wrong, she would never forgive herself for not looking. It wasn't that she thought Jake was incapable of taking care of himself. It was just that he was the only one she had left, and she didn't want to be here alone.

Alex thought back to all the times she had wanted nothing more than to be left alone on the mountain, how hard she had pushed her parents and Jake to just leave her alone to her thoughts and let her wander the mountain alone. They'd started letting her stay out overnight, camping on the property, when she was nine. Her parents weren't thrilled, while the property was safer than the city life they'd left behind, there were still things to worry about like rattlesnakes and mountain lions, though it had been a few years since anyone had reported seeing a mountain lion locally. Plus, if you had an accident, like Alex did when she was fifteen and had been thrown off the horse, breaking her wrist and spraining her ankle, it was likely that no one would be able to hear you call for help. Alex always made it out okay, but she had a feeling it was because her parents had made sure Jake went looking for her if she was gone for too long.

Which brought her back to the present and the thought that perhaps it was her turn to go look for him.

**Jake's POV**

Jake sat in the grass, staring at the dead baby whose head he'd blown half off. He kept telling himself to look away, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. He knew he was crying, probably making more noise than he should, but he couldn't bring himself to give a shit. This was too much. Jake had never thought of himself as a man with a breaking point, he figured he could handle anything, but this was… he didn't know what this was. Words couldn't describe the feelings that were bubbling inside of him, threatening to rip his heart to shreds. The sun slowly moved across the sky as Jake sat there waging an internal war.

He was eventually pulled from his despair by sounds that were not his. He finally looked away from the baby to see several walkers coming his way from the direction of the road. The sight of them enraged him, they were the reason he'd had to kill a baby, the reason that Alex wasn't safe, the reason she was sad because her parents were missing and seemingly everyone they had known was now walking dead.

He jumped up from his sitting position, pulling his knife out of it's sheath. He didn't even look at his gun. He stomped over to the walkers, proceeding to take all five of them out with a knife to the eye socket. None of them presented a challenge, as his anger had blindly propelled him through the fight. When he stopped and looked down at the bodies, he was mildly surprised that he didn't recognize any of them. He was sure he knew everyone that shared a fence line with the Lazy H, and most of the people in town. Well, the outdoorsy types from town anyway.

He leaned over the body closest to him and searched the man's pockets, hoping to find an ID. The man's wallet was in his back pocket: John Macullough of Indian Springs. Well, it looked like he was a local, but Jake had never heard of any Macullough's in town. The next walker was a younger man, according to his school ID he was Shawn Macullough. Jake checked the others, two women and another man, but none had ID. Jake assumed that they were a family and that they lived somewhere in the valley. While the town only had 1,600 residents, he supposed it was reasonable that he didn't know every single one.

Jake finally noticed how high the sun had gotten in the sky. He looked at this watch, it was just after noon. He'd been sitting there for over an hour. Fuck. Alex was going to start worrying pretty soon, if he knew her. And he did. It was still going to be another hour before he had finished riding the fence line and he didn't want Alex to come looking for him.

Jake turned from the bodies, not sparing them another thought, and practically ran to the fence. He was almost there when he realized he had left the AR near the baby. He almost didn't go back for it, but he realized that his survival might depend on having it, so he jogged over to where he'd left it, careful to keep his eyes from wandering to the dead baby. He then ran back to the fence, climbed over it and jumped back on the bike, eager to leave the graveyard behind him.

Jake kickstarted the bike and continued on his way, following the fence line around the southern portion of the property. This part of the fence line was still in good shape; there had been a big winter storm a few years back that had completely taken down about fifty yards of fence when it brought a giant live oak tree down on top of it.

When Jake finally came to the southern pasture, he could tell that Alex had already been there. He could see the green foam dripping from the horses' mouths, a telltale sign that Alex had given them apples. Peaches made them foam at the mouth too, but not green and it wasn't peach season anyway. Jake parked the bike near the gate and walked the back portion of the fence that made up the property line, double checking his work from the previous week. He noticed some gore hanging from the barbs, bits of skin, hair and clothing. He could make out the drag marks on the ground on the other side of the fence. He figured Alex had found at least two walkers at the fence, probably drawn to the sound of the horses. There were no signs indicating that she'd had any sort of trouble, so he got back on the bike and completed the circuit.

Parking the bike in the barn twenty minutes later, Jake saw Alex's basket of eggs; she was no where to be seen, however. He checked his watch, 1:18. Slinging his pack over one shoulder and the AR over the other, Jake walked to the garden, expecting to see Alex up to her elbows in dirt and weeds. She wasn't there, though she clearly had been. Looked like she had gotten most of the weeds taken care of before she quit.

Jake looked down towards the creek; another one of Alex's childhood "secret" spots. He walked down to the trees and when he parted the branches to step through he spied her sitting on a boulder dangling her feet in the water.

"So I been bustin' my ass all mornin' an' yer jus' sittin' here havin' a lazy afternoon, eh?" he drawled at her.


	6. Chapter 6 - Day Six, Part Two

**A/N: Ok! One last "set up" chapter before shit starts to get real dark. Hope you enjoy :)**

**Day Six (Continued)**

**Chapter 6: Together Again**

Alex jumped, not having heard his approach due to the noise of the water. "Damn it, Jake! Don't sneak up on me like that! You know I can't hear shit next to the water!" She reached down and cupped some of the water in her hand and splashed it in Jake's direction, missing him completely.

Jake squatted on the bank and scooped some water in his hands, splashing it over his face and neck. "I fergot how nice this little spot is… can't hear nothin' but tha water. Easy ta ferget 'bout tha world goin' ta shit," he said, staring at the water as he wiped down his neck.

Alex continued kicking her feet, making little splashes. "It's a good thing you got back when you did. I was just decidin' to come look for you," she said as she directed her gaze at him. "Lucky for you I got caught up enjoyin' this little bit of heaven. I had to cool down before coming after you," she finished.

"What'cha got left ta do? Ya checked on tha horses an' cleaned tha chicken coop. Looks like ya got mosta tha weeds. Ya wan' me to help with tha pickin' or you wan' me to go muck out tha stalls and take care a' tha pigs?" he asked. Jake took a seat on another boulder. He rested the pack in his lap and set his gun to the side. He opened the pack and offered Alex one of the sandwiches she'd made this morning.

"I already tended to the pigs. You can go ahead and start mucking the stalls, I guess. I'm almost finished with the weeding. We'll probably finish about the same time, then you can help me pick the veggies," she replied, taking the sandwich he offered; she hadn't realized how hungry she was until she looked at the sandwich in her hands. "I gotta turn the water off in the orchard, too."

"Anythin' of interes' ta repor'," Jake asked through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Not really. Orchards look good, probably a couple more weeks before it's time to pick the apples. Almonds should be ready about the same time," Alex said between bites. "Found the Jensen's trying to get at the horses through the fence. I put them down, then went and checked their place out, just to be sure. I figured it was safer to run over and clear the place than to wait for other walkers to show up. Took down two more of 'em at their place," she said nonchalantly before stuffing the rest of the sandwich in her face. "How 'bout you?" she managed to get out of her full mouth.

"Fence looks good all 'round. Found tha' Graham's along tha fence at tha top a' tha mountain. All three a' em. Don' know wha' got their attention an' led 'em there though. Didn' look fer no tracks." Jake paused for a moment, not wanting to tell Alex about the terrible thing he'd had to do at the Branson's ranch.

"Took down thirteen at tha' Branson's, whole family plus tha' hands… Joe was there," Jake quietly said as he stared at his boots.

Alex quickly counted in her head. "That's only seven… what the hell happened?"

"There 's a baby… I had ta do it… couldn't …" Jake's voice trailed off.

Alex could tell that he was hurting, something terrible had happened out there. "You don't have to tell me, it's okay, Jake," she said, reaching over and resting her hand on his shoulder. She sat there with him in silence for a few moments, then changed the subject.

"Well, I'm finally cooled off and my feet are all wrinkled, so I supposed it's time to get back to work," she said with a wink. She helped gather the items that Jake had spread out while they ate, placing things back in the pack before handing it to him.

"Sounds good," he said, taking the pack from her hand and slinging his gun over his shoulder.

Alex slipped her wet feet into her shoes and gathered her few belongings, then followed Jake.

"I'll run down ta tha' orchard an' turn off tha water first. Then I guess I'll see ya when I finish with tha stalls. Holler if ya need anythin'," he said over his shoulder as he climbed up the bank in front of her.

"Will do, Dixon!' she chirped after him. It was clear that he was very bothered by whatever he'd had to do that day. Maybe he would share later and it would help him feel better. The only thing she could do was be there for him and listen if he decided to share.

Alex got down to business quickly, wanting to get this chore over with. Cooling down in the creek had made her feel better, but she just wanted to continue sitting next to the water, not crawl around in the dirt pulling weeds.

Two hours later, when Jake finished mucking out the stalls, he found Alex in the garden, weeding completed. She was resting on her heels, in a squatting position, and picking snap peas off the vine, popping one into her mouth every few minutes.

Jake grabbed an empty basket and moved to the peppers, picking the ripe ones and moving down the row. By the time Alex had finished with the peas, he'd finished the peppers and had moved on to the leafy greens, lettuce and spinach, while Alex pulled the carrots. They hadn't spoken since he came into the garden. Jake didn't really have anything to say; he was still trying to resolve his feelings on the first part of the day and he wasn't ready to try to put it into words just yet. He was glad that Alex understood that and they could just work in silence.

With two of them doing the picking, it didn't take long to complete the task, four of the baskets they'd filled with produce, plus the full egg basket. It had been a very productive day. Plus between the two of them they'd killed eighteen walkers that day. She was glad that they had decided not to burn them anymore, eighteen bodies would be a lot of work to get rid of. Alex figured that Jake wouldn't be too excited about their growing body count, so she kept it to herself. Secretly, there was a part of her that was excited about their twenty six kills, but another part of her was appalled that they had killed so many of their neighbors.

They packed up the produce and eggs into the back of Alex's truck before the silence between them was broken. It was about 4 p.m., definitely close enough to start thinking about dinner, and Alex was just about starving again. She finally broke the silence between them.

"What do you think about steaks, baked potatoes and salad," she asked him. "We got lots of yummy stuff outta the garden and the steaks need to get used soon," she said as they climbed into the truck to head to the house. Alex was going to talk to him about finally heading in to town to see if they could get any more answers and figure out what they were going to do next, since this was starting to look more and more like a new way of life, not just a temporary problem that would be solved soon.

Jake just nodded and continued to stare out the window.

The house was quiet as Alex prepped dinner. She had insisted that Jake go shower and clean up instead of helping. She figured that he needed some time to regroup, and maybe a hot shower would help with that. Besides, it's not like she'd planned some culinary adventure, she could make steak and potatoes with her eyes closed.

When Jake joined her in the kitchen after his shower, Alex pushed the cutting board in front of him with a pile of fresh veggies to be chopped for their salad. She could tell by the crease in his brow that he still wasn't ready to talk, so she didn't. She just piled the things on the counter next to him, along with a big bowl for it all to go into. She'd already put the potatoes in the oven to bake, and the steaks would only take a few minutes on the grill, so those were just sitting on the counter coming up to room temp.

When Jake was set, Alex gently nudged his shoulder, nodded her head toward her room and walked in that direction. It was her turn to clean up.

When she emerged from her room, Alex could smell the steaks cooking on the grill outside. From the kitchen, she could see Jake out on the porch tending to the grill, drinking a beer. It was such a normal sight, '_This could be any normal day,'_ she thought. Too bad it wasn't.

Alex checked on the baked potatoes. Finding them perfectly soft, she removed them from the oven and placed them on the counter. She quickly set the table with the salad and dressing, as well as toppings for the baked potatoes. Once again, the table looked like they were feeding an army, not just two people. She arranged everything on the table perfectly, then grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and headed out to the porch with Jake. She handed him both bottles, he grabbed his pocket knife and popped the tops, then handed one back to her with an arched brow, as if to ask what she was doing.

"Just thought it would help me relax," she shrugged, then took a swig. It wasn't her first beer, far from it. She'd been sneaking beer since she was about ten, and her dad had openly let her drink them around the ranch at fifteen, but usually only one and only with him. Alex figured he wouldn't mind. Jake didn't say anything, just took another pull off his beer and continued staring at the steaks over the flames.

"How 'bout one of your smokes, Dixon?" she asked with a smirk. "I'm in full delinquent mode."

Jake pulled the pack from his pocket and tapped one out of the pack for her. Holding the lighter out for her he said, "Damn, girl. An' here I thought you were all innocent an' perfect. Tha world ends an' I come ta find out'cher jus' another redneck like me." A small grin crept to the corners of his lips before he could suppress it. "I tol'jer parents that followin' me around all tha time was gonna come back an' bite them in tha' ass. Now look at'cha - jus' another Dixon redneck."

Alex couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread across her face. "I always wanted to be a Dixon. Alex Dixon sounds pretty bad ass, right?" she laughed as she took another drink of her beer. She was starting to feel a little buzz from the combination of the beer and the smoke.

"Yep. Alex Dixon is pretty bad ass. Ya know, fer a girl," Jake teased. "I don't think you could keep up with the other Dixon's though, back in Georgia. My cousins are like the kings of Georgia rednecks - they live in a moonshine shack, beat tha' shit outta each other all tha' time, get all their food from bow huntin'. My cousin Merle was a meth dealer, in 'n outta jail all tha time. His brother Daryl was a mechanic, mostly followed his brother around tha' state gettin' inta trouble. You ain't got nothin' on them, girl." He took the steaks off the grill and handed the plate to Alex.

"Well, it's not like I'm trying to win "redneck of the year" or anything. I'll happily defer to the redneck expertise of the Georgia Dixons," Alex said with a flourish and curtsey. She was just happy that Jake was talking to her, even if it was about something silly.

Jake scraped the grill with the iron bristled brush to clean the charred pieces of meat off. Alex had set the plate down and covered it with a piece of tin foil. She was back to focusing on her cigarette and beer. "You serious? 'Bout wantin' ta be a Dixon?" he inquired quietly. He found it strange and comforting at the same time that she would want to share his last name. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something wriggling around in his belly at the thought of her being Alex Dixon.

Alex slowly took a drag, looking at Jake as if he were a book and she was trying to read him. "Yeah, I was serious," she said carefully. "Been thinkin' about it since I was seven years old." She ground out her cigarette in the nearby ashtray and took another swig of beer. "Come on, let's eat," she said, picking up the plate and heading through the door and towards the kitchen.

When they finally sat down to loaded plates, the mood was slightly lighter than it had been earlier. They ate in companionable silence until Alex, finished with her food, pushed her plate away and looked at Jake. After a few moments studying his face, she asked, "What do you think about going in to town tomorrow? I want to find Sheriff Riggs. It seems like he should have some answers about what's going on, I mean if there's answers to be had, he should have them, right?" She rushed on, not waiting for his response, "I mean, I guess I'd like some reassurance that this really is as bad as we think it is, that life will never go back to what it was before…" Her voice drifted off, leaving her thought unfinished.

Jake sat staring at his mostly empty plate, unsure of how to answer her. He was certain that things in town were going to be worse than what they'd seen out here. He was also certain that they had to go check out the town. There were too many questions that couldn't be answered without venturing into town, if for no other reason than to cross it off their list of places that might be safe. He pushed the rest of his food around his plate a bit. If she didn't know better, Alex would've thought he didn't hear her.

"'Suppose we should check it out. Yer right, if anyone 'round 'ere knows what's goin' on it'll be Sherriff Riggs. If we kin find 'em. Doubt he an' Molly 're still livin' above tha station. It'snot very defendable, long term, anyway. Should we make a plan, order of places we wanna check out? Not sure it'll do us any good, least not if thangs go ta shit like I think they will." He forced himself to finish the last few bites of food on his plate before bussing his and Alex's dishes to the kitchen.

Alex followed him with the condiments and began putting them away.

"No idea what we're getting into, so probably best not to try to make a plan, just roll with it as it comes. We can always make a plan once we see what we see," she said. She was glad Jake hadn't tried to fight her on it. She figured he wouldn't, but she wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't talked to her at all. There had been a few times over the years that Jake had been so upset or angry about something that he stopped talking. It usually only lasted a little while, maybe a few hours, but she was glad he hadn't tried to shut her out altogether.

They spent the next couple of hours out on the deck in the porch swing. The evening was beautiful and the crickets and frogs were creating a cacophony of nature. They had each consumed a couple of beers, Alex careful not to drink too fast or too many; she didn't want to lose her senses completely, just dull them a bit. They'd finished Jake's pack of cigarettes. He said he had more in the bunkhouse, but it occurred to Alex that they just might want to pick up any that they found in town. Since they didn't grow tobacco on the ranch it wasn't like they could just roll their own. Alex suddenly realized that she was worried about running out of cigarettes - '_Guess I'm a smoker now,'_ she thought to herself with a little laugh.

"What's so funny," Jake asked as he nudged her shoulder with his own.

"I think I'm officially a smoker now," she replied. "I was just thinking we should make sure to pick up smokes if we can. I don't wanna run out." She was absently rubbing her hands over her jean clad thighs while she stared into the night sky.

"Shit. Yer dad's gonna kill me," Jake said.

"I doubt it. _Damn it Dixon! You kept her alive in the zombie apocalypse but you failed to keep her away from cigarettes! _Doesn't really sound like my dad, ya know?" She smiled, thinking about her father and how proud of her he'd be right now. She'd managed to bring Jake back from the precipice of death, protected their land from walkers, cared for the animals and gardens, as well as protected the area around them by killing the walkers she came across. She had acted with honor in dealing with the crisis and in caring for the dead that they'd known, until they realized that there were just too many bodies to burn. She was certain he'd be proud of her.

"When do ya think we should head in tomorrow? It's gettin' late. We should probably turn in pretty soon. Gotta a feelin' it's gonna be another long day tomorrow," he said.

"I think we're only going to have long days from here on out… probably should leave after the sun comes up. Wanna make sure we can see the road and what we're dealin' with in town," Alex replied. She leaned her head on Jake's shoulder and laced her fingers through his. "I hope we aren't the only normal people left," she barely whispered.

"Me too, Al. Me too." Jake squeezed her hand in his and watched the stars, hoping they would make it through the next day safely.


	7. Chapter 7 - Day Seven, Part One

**Day 7**

**Chapter 7: Going to Town**

**Jake's POV**

Jake woke with the sun's rays in his eyes. He felt the heat of Alex's body against his as he slowly slipped into a waking state. He panicked for a moment before the memory of the previous night came to him. They'd come in from the porch after several hours of drinking, smoking, talking and star gazing, and settled in on the couch. Neither spoke of it, but it was clear that she was as unwilling as he was to move towards his own couch or bed. So they'd just settled in with one another. It just seemed natural, like the less time they spent separated, the easier it was to deal with all the other shit the world had thrown at them.

Somehow over the course of the night, she had become the little spoon to his big spoon - her body was tucked into his and his arm draped around her waist, pulling her tightly to him. He wondered for a moment how long they'd been like that, then he thought it was a good thing no one could catch them like that, immediately followed by the thought that he didn't care. They hadn't done anything and it felt damn good to have her there with him. They'd already lost so much, there was no reason to take the comfort they'd found in one another away too.

He just laid there, watching her sleep. Her long brown hair was falling out of the braid Alex had put it in after her shower and was now sticking out every which way. She had curled her arm around his at her waist and laced their fingers together, holding him to her. Her breathing was quiet. She shifted her head slightly, pushing a few of her stray hairs into his face, tickling his nose. Jake smirked, _'Of course she would find a way to annoy me, even in her sleep,'_ he thought. He decided it was time to wake her up, as much as he wanted to just lay here all day and forget the atrocities that waited for them outside the fence.

Jake brought his face close to her ear, briefly inhaling the scent of Alex's hair before whispering, "Al… Time to rise and shine, sleepy head." He went to pull his arm off of her but she held him there before slowly opening her eyes, squinting them in the bright morning sun.

"Mornin'," she yawned. Jake felt her body tense against him before she opened her eyes and squeezed his hand.

"Sorry, guess I just didn't want to let you get away while I slept," she teased as she released his hand. He let it linger for a moment longer, then retracted it from around her and rested it on his thigh.

He suddenly became very aware of just how close their bodies were. It was comforting and unnerving at the same time. He was so busy mentally kicking himself for the thoughts he was having that her voice barely registered in his head.

"Huh?" he asked.

"How'd you sleep," she repeated.

"Slept better than I have since everythin' went ta shit. How 'boutchu?" he replied. He was beginning to get uncomfortable at just how close they were and he began absently twirling a piece of her hair that had just been in his face.

Alex rolled onto her back and faced him. Jake was momentarily struck by how pretty she was in that moment.

"I slept pretty damn good myself. Almost forgot the world ended last week," she said, stretching and yawning, and getting her hair all over Jake's face, then she sat up and repeated the action.

"Well," she said, as she stood up, not a moment too soon as far as Jake was concerned "let's get this show on the road, Dixon. Sooner we get there, the sooner we have some answers, even if they aren't the ones we want."

The ride to the main road was surprisingly quiet. Alex had said something about the pack of wild dogs that usually chased everyone as they drove down the dirt road, but he was preoccupied with thoughts of the day that lay before them. And the smell of her neck. Jake was definitely preoccupied with the smell of Alex's neck.

As he pulled out onto the main road, his mind kept flashing to last night and the moments they shared in silence just enjoying each other and the beauty of the night. _'There's somethin' seriously wrong with ya fer thinkin' 'bout Al that way, she's jus' a kid,'_ he told himself repeatedly. _'Nah, she ain't been jus' a kid fer a long time, even before all this shit,' _he argued with himself. '_Ya need ta get it together Dixon! Yer responsible fer her til her parents get back, an ya can't do that with yer mind in tha gutter,' _he chastised himself.

It was this train of thought that made him miss the walker in the road.

Jake heard Alex's warning too late and though he slammed on the brakes he still plowed right over the thing. The thud of the body getting dragged under the tires was still resounding in his ears when he heard Alex's voice.

"Huh?" he grunted.

"I said are you okay? How did you not see that guy? He was in the middle of the road!" She didn't sound angry. More like concerned.

"I dunno wha' happen'd. Jus' didn' see im. You okay? Didn't hit 'cher head or nothin'," he looked her over but didn't see any obvious signs of trauma.

"Nah, I'm fine. I'mma jump out and see who that was," she said, opening the door and jumping out before he could register what she was doing.

Popping back up into the truck seconds later, Alex put her seat belt back on and nodded to him to keep driving. "It was that kid Frank from school, ya know, the one that pulled individual hairs out of my head when he sat behind me in English last year."

"Yeah, I remember ya tellin' me 'bout tha' lil' shit. What ever happen'd with tha'? Didja turn around an' sock 'im in tha' nose like I toldja?" he asked.

Alex fidgeted with her fingers in her lap for a moment before answering. "The next time he did it I turned around and lit his leg hairs on fire with the lighter I always keep in my pocket. It made a terrible smell and he screamed like a little bitch."

"Are you fuckin' serious, Al? How tha hell didja get away with that?"

"I don't know, really. The teacher saw it happen, asked Frank what he had done to start it and he said 'nothing'. I told him that he'd been pulling my hair out all year long and that I was tired of it. Teacher looked at Frank, told him he deserved it and kept teaching. After class, I told Frank that he was a waste of space and a worthless piece of shit that I hoped died. Guess I finally got my wish."

Jake was shocked. He'd never heard this story before and he thought he knew all of Alex's stories. "Don'tcha go blamin' this on yerself, Al. No matter what'chu said to 'im this shit ain't yer fault." He wanted to say more, but his attention was drawn to movement behind Alex, out the passenger window. He nodded his head in that direction, "Should probably get movin', looks like we've been noticed."

There were three walkers coming their way through a field. They would get hung up on the barbed wire fence long before they reached the road, but there was no reason to stick around. Jake put the truck in gear and accelerated hard to get over the dead body under the tires. There was a sickening squishing sound as the tires ground into the rotting flesh seeking purchase to move them forward. When they finally caught on the pavement, the truck lurched forward a bit before smoothing out. Alex rolled down her window and shot the walkers as Jake pulled away.

"What'd ya do that fer? We coulda just left 'em. They weren't goin' anywhere," he asked. They didn't need to be wasting ammo.

"Maybe not yet, but at some point that fence is gonna give and then what? They'll end up against our fence and bring it down too. No, I think the only thing to do is take down as many as possible. They're a threat, even if it's only one or two. One or two easily becomes ten or twenty. I don't think we have the luxury to allow them to exist." Alex put her hand out the window, fluttering it through the breeze as they drove.

Jake had slowed to about twenty m.p.h., not wanting to be surprised again. He noticed about a dozen walkers roaming the fields they passed, Alex would probably want to deal with them once they figured out what was happening in town.

There were horses and cows grazing along the side of the road and Jake slowed even more to make sure they had time to get out of his way. He could see half a dozen different brands on the various animals, they'd obviously broken out of several ranches.

"Ya see tha different brands on 'em? Those 'er probably places we can count on there bein' supplies, should we eventually need them. If tha' stock is runnin' wild, s' probably cuz no one's 'round ta feed 'em. An' I was thinkin' that there's at least a dozen people that I know were doomsday preppers, if we see any of 'em walkin' 'round dead we can add their places to tha list of places ta raid fer supplies." Jake hoped they wouldn't have to do any of the things we was thinking about, but he had a bad feeling about town.

It wasn't much of a town. The road they were on entered town from the west, leading through the one-stop-sign town and out to the main highway. The stop sign was a three-way stop, the other road leading north out of town past a combination gas station/U-Haul rental/storage company on one side of the road and a gigantic forty acre park on the other.

Just before they reached the stop sign, there was a small school on the left side of the road. It had a large sports field out front and the entire property was surrounded by a six foot chain link fence. Child sized walkers roamed the field and began pressing up against the fence trying to reach the truck as they drove by. Jake was reminded of the horrible baby walker's eyes and he gripped the steering wheel tighter, willing the memory to leave his brain. Instead, the image just got clearer.

They went through the stop sign, the rodeo arena, fire station and Elk's Lodge on their right, shopping center with grocery store, hardware store, vet's office, pizzeria, title company, bank, and diner on the left. About twenty yards ahead, Jake could see the combination sheriff's/post office on their right, and on the left the only bar in town. Beyond that, the road to the highway was barricaded with cars. Past the barricade, right off the highway was the emergency clinic that was shared by the neighboring towns, the one that Alex had called when she found Jake sick.

The town had certainly seen better days. The grocery store had been looted, the glass doors were all broken out and stuff was strewn about the ground haphazardly. There were cars that had been pushed off to the side of the road, some abandoned with doors left open, others clearly had dead bodies in them, still belted into their seats. The fire engine sat in front of the station like it did on wash day, only there were no shirtless firemen out there making sure it was spotless. A couple of goats and chickens wandered around the parking lot, looking for food. Surprisingly, there were no walkers to be seen.

They were looking for Sheriff Riggs, so naturally they started with the sheriff's office. Jake pulled into the parking lot, then turned the truck around so it was ready to take off in a hurry if need be.

"Well, I guess this is where thangs start ta get intrestin'," Jake drawled, killing the engine. He put the keys in his pocket, then got out of the truck, gun at the ready. Alex followed suit, falling in behind Jake as they made their way to the building entrance.

The front windows had been barricaded and it looked like the door had been kicked in at some point but was now back on it's hinges. Jake nodded his head to the left, Alex went that way, and he took the right. All the windows on his side of the building had been boarded up from the outside. He couldn't hear any sounds coming from within the building, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He and Alex turned the corners at the back of the building at the exact same time. She quickly shook her head in the negative, indicating that she hadn't seen or heard anything either. The back door was in better shape than the front, but there was still no indication that anyone was here.

They walked back around to the front and Jake knocked on the door lightly. He didn't want to make any more noise than was absolutely necessary, so he did not call out announcing who they were like he had at the Johnson's.

After a moment, they heard footsteps inside getting closer to the door.

"Sheriff Riggs?" Alex said to the door, "It's Alex Haddley and Jake Dixon."

Jake shifted his weight, his weapon still held at the ready.

They heard a muffled scraping sound, then the door opened a crack, a high pitched squeal that sounded like, "ohmygodAlex!" resonated through the air and the door was thrown open. A streak of blond attached itself to Alex's stiff form before Jake could react.

**Alex's POV**

Alex woke feeling warm and cozy. Too warm and cozy she thought as memories of the previous day came back to her. She was about to open her eyes when she felt Jake's breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear to rise and shine.

"Mornin'," she yawned. Suddenly, she realized that she'd been holding his hand and refusing to let go. She squeezed his hand before releasing it, "Sorry, guess I just didn't want to let you get away while I slept," she teased. It dawned on her just how close their faces were, she could feel his breath on her and it did weird things to her stomach. "How'd you sleep," she asked, ignoring whatever war was being waged within her. She had to fight the urge to tuck a stray wisp of his hair behind his ear. Why was she being so weird this morning?

"Slept better than I have since everythin' went ta shit. How 'boutchu?" he replied. He'd removed his arm from her waist and she noticed how cold she was without it.

Alex rolled onto her back so she could see all of Jake's face before replying. "I slept pretty damn good myself. Almost forgot the world ended last week." She wanted to say something about how comfortable it was sleeping next to him and how nice it was to wake up in his arms, but she kept those pesky thoughts to herself, they didn't have time for her stupid girly shit or whatever the fuck this was. Alex stretched and yawned again, then sat up and stretched some more; she was sitting too close to him. "Well," she said, standing up, "let's get this show on the road, Dixon. Sooner we get there, the sooner we have some answers, even if they aren't the ones we want."

Alex moved about the house getting ready - dressing, checking weapons, pulling food together to take with them. She threw together a cold breakfast for them, leftovers from the night before and a few pieces of cheese and bread. They ate standing in the kitchen, between completing other tasks.

In less than an hour they were ready to leave. Alex made sure they had plenty of ammo for the AR's. She'd made to they also each had a silenced handgun: hers was her favorite Sig Sauer 1911 and Jake's was the Glock he'd used previously. They still hadn't had time to customize the holsters for the guns, but they could just tuck them into their waistbands. It would be good to have weapons on them that were less obvious anyway, just in case shit went down. She put extra ammo clips in the bag then added bottled water and food. She figured they'd be gone most of the day and she wasn't sure what kind of supplies they would come across out there.

They'd decided to take Manny's truck. It was newer and the engine was quieter, hopefully it would draw less attention to them on the road. Jake drove, Alex literally riding shotgun, like they did in the old stagecoach days - only instead of carrying a shotgun she had the AR-15.

The drive down the mile long stretch of private dirt road was quiet. They didn't see any of their neighbors - dead or alive. In fact things were eerily quiet.

"I don't think I've ever seen it so dead before. No one's out working their fields or taking care of animals. It's weird. Even the King's place with that damn pack of feral dogs is silent, and those fuckers usually come running at the sound of a passing car," Alex said.

Jake didn't say anything.

A few minutes later he pulled out onto the main road, eyes looking down the road ahead. Alex kept her eyes scanning all around them, looking for others that had turned. She didn't really expect to see any survivors; everything they'd experienced so far said there wouldn't be any.

She looked back to the road and saw a walker in the road, coming up fast. "WATCH OUT!" she screamed too late. Jake slammed on the brakes but ran over the body anyway, the truck coming to a stop on top of him.

"Holy shit! You okay?" she asked him.

"Huh?" he grunted at her.

"I said are you okay? How did you not see that guy? He was in the middle of the road!" She wasn't angry, she was worried. It wasn't like Jake to not pay attention while driving.

"I dunno wha' happen'd. Jus' didn' see im. You okay? Didn't hit 'cher head or nothin'," he asked. She felt his eyes check her over for injuries.

"Nah, I'm fine. I'mma jump out and see who that was," she was curious which one of their neighbors was under the tires. She looked at the body under the rear tires. Even though it was mangled, she knew right away who it was. Without a second look, Alex turned and jumped back in the truck, clicking her seatbelt in and nodding to Jake to keep driving.

After a few moments Alex volunteered, "It was that kid Frank from school, ya know, the one that pulled individual hairs out of my head when he sat behind me in English last year."

"Yeah, I remember ya tellin' me 'bout tha' lil' shit. What ever happen'd with tha'? Didja turn around an' sock 'im in tha' nose like I toldja?" he asked.

Alex fidgeted with her fingers in her lap for a moment before answering, she'd never told anyone in her family about this incident, but there was no reason not to tell now. The asshole was dead. "The next time he did it I turned around and lit his leg hairs on fire with the lighter I always keep in my pocket. It made a terrible smell and he screamed like a little bitch." She felt her lips twitch up in a little grin at the memory.

"Are you fuckin' serious, Al? How tha hell didja get away with that?" Jake blustered at her.

Alex had never figured out how she avoided suspension. "I don't know, really. The teacher saw it happen, asked Frank what he had done to start it and he said 'nothing'. I told him that he'd been pulling my hair out all year long and that I was tired of it. Teacher looked at Frank, told him he deserved it and kept teaching. After class, I told Frank that he was a waste of space and a worthless piece of shit that I hoped died. Guess I finally got my wish."

Alex felt conflicted about the death of her classmate. There was a little part of her that felt guilt that she had told him to die and now here he was, twice dead and under their truck at the end of the world. The other part of her was happy that he was gone, he was a bully and an asshole after all.

Jake told her that it wasn't her fault, but she didn't really listen. She knew it wasn't her fault, that her words hadn't caused this mess they were in. She was more interested in the livestock wandering around along the side of the road. There must be a bunch of fences down. Her attention was diverted by Jake's nod to the field behind her.

"Should probably get movin', looks like we been noticed," he said, putting the truck in gear and accelerating over the body. Alex rolled the window down and shot the walkers in the field.

When Jake questioned her about shooting them she quickly listed off her reasons why it was more important to kill them now than wait for them to be an actual physical threat in the future.

The rest of the drive in was quiet, aside from the occasional stray horse or cow grazing along the side of the road. Jake had slowed considerably so they had time to avoid them.

When they drove by the school, Alex was disturbed by the child walkers that were roaming the field and flailing at the fence. Jake looked pretty upset, understandably. He'd been acting weird all morning and Alex was sure it had something to do with the previous day at the Branson's place, but she still wasn't going to push him on it.

She forced her eyes to look away, noticing the "traffic jam" in the road ahead for the first time.

The locals often referred to a traffic jam in town as being stuck behind a tractor or a herd of something crossing the road. But this was more like a pile up. There were about a dozen cars blocking the road entering town from the highway. At first Alex thought it was an accident, and some of the original cars probably were, but as they got closer it became apparent that someone had purposely arranged the cars in a wall as a barricade.

They pulled into the parking lot of the sheriff's station, Jake parking so they wouldn't have to back up to leave if they had to bail in a hurry. He was always so smart, thinking of things like that.

They quickly cleared around the building then went back and knocked on the front door.

After a moment, she heard footsteps inside getting closer to the door.

"Sheriff Riggs?" Alex said to the door, "It's Alex Haddley and Jake Dixon."

A muffled scraping sound was quickly followed by the door opening a crack, a high pitched squeal that sounded like, "ohmygodAlex!" and the door being flung open.

The next thing Alex knew, she was being attacked by flailing arms, and blond hair was everywhere.


	8. Chapter 8 - Day Seven, Part Two

**Day 7, Part 2**

**Chapter 8: Answers… and More Questions**

Alex was slowly being suffocated in her friends' arms, her AR awkwardly jabbing her in the side and the blonde's long locks finding their way into Alex's nose and mouth. She gently pried Molly's arms apart, pushing away from her so Alex could get a better look at her.

"OH MY GOD ALEX! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU!" Molly screeched. Her face was ashen and dirty, she definitely looked like she'd had a rough couple of days.

"I'm so glad to see you," Alex replied quietly. "You gotta keep your voice down Molly, we don't want to draw any more attention than necessary. Your dad here?" Alex suddenly felt very exposed and wanted to get back to the Lazy H sooner rather than later.

Molly's face became even more pale and her hands started to tremble. After a deep breath she replied, "Daddy's out checkin' on folks around town. Said he was gonna try to reach out to some of the ranchers today. Been gone since sun up. Figure he'll be back early afternoon. Come on inside, it's safer than out here."

Alex looked at Jake and was glad to see that he'd caught it as well, there was something strange about the way Molly was acting. They'd been friends since middle school, Molly was one of Alex's only female friends, and even then, Alex wouldn't say they were close. She would almost always prefer the company of Jake or just being alone to being with people. But Molly had always understood Alex's peculiarities, being the daughter of the town sheriff made her familiar with weapons and fighting, things that Alex was interested in. They didn't talk about boys or gossip about the stupid bitches they went to school with. Just shop talk.

All of Alex's previous interactions with Molly came to mind as she watched the girl move towards the front door, jerking her head from side to side checking to make sure they were still alone. Her movements were not smooth like they used to be. Something was definitely off here. Alex wanted to blame it on the craziness their world had suddenly been plunged into, but her gut told her that it was more than that.

Alex made to follow Molly to the door when Jake reached out and grabbed her arm. They exchanged a look, then he released her arm and followed Molly through the door first. Alex was close behind him, and closed the door when she crossed the threshold.

The office was a mess. It looked like a tornado had blown through. There were papers and mail strewn everywhere, desks turned on their sides and pushed up against the windows, it was a disaster area. There was an odd smell, something musty or dying, maybe. Alex was on high alert.

Molly quickly walked them through the disaster to the stairwell, leading them to the second floor where the living area was. It had just been Molly and her Dad since she was little. No one was really sure what the story on her Mom was, the woman was out of their life before Molly and the sheriff had moved to town. She was just gone, as Molly would eventually tell Alex in high school.

The small living quarters above the station were in a similar state of disarray as the downstairs office, but minus the weird smell. The windows had all been covered with dark cloth and most of the furniture had been moved near the stairwell, like it was ready to be used as a barricade at a moments notice. Broken picture frames, figurines and other detritus littered the floor. Books had been pulled from the bookshelf and tossed carelessly aside. Clothes, blankets, dirty dishes, you name it, it was on the floor.

The Molly that Alex remembered was a tomboy, for sure; but she liked things neat and organized. The girl that would freak out if you didn't put her markers back in the box in the correct "rainbow order" as she called it was definitely not the girl that Alex was confronted with now. Not that it was surprising. Alex was certain that a lot of people were doing things that they never would have done before all this. She certainly never would have killed more than half her neighbors before. Well, not _half_ of them anyway. A few, maybe.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Molly said, gesturing around the room as if there were a place for them to sit. "You guys want something to drink? I've got bottled water and some Cokes," she offered, fidgeting with her shirt hem.

Jake shook his head and Alex politely declined, "That's okay, thank you though."

Jake found a couple of chairs that used to sit around the kitchen table and placed one for Alex to sit on, then one for himself. Molly had already found a comfortable seat on the floor.

"So, Molly, what happened here?" Alex asked. She figured she'd just let Molly start at the beginning and ask questions along the way.

"Well, the day after we last saw each other at school, Daddy got a call from the clinic, something about how an old lady from the nursing home had been brought in with a bad fever, it killed her and they found her wandering around the morgue when they went to bring another body in later. She'd eaten the coroner I guess, and he ate some other people… another couple days and the whole thing was out of control. People were being crazy - looting the grocery store and the gas station. Daddy said that someone killed the gas station attendant because the line was too long to gas up. The whole thing was insane."

Molly was fidgeting endlessly with her shirt hem, and the fabric appeared to be worn thin in a couple places. She refused to make eye contact with either Jake or Alex, her eyes darting about to the corners of the room as she seemed to forced herself to continue with the story.

"Men showed up here a couple days in, kicked the door down and came barging in looking for weapons. Daddy wasn't here… I hid in the very back of the closet behind a bunch of boxes. They were here for a long time… Daddy eventually came home… I had to hide for a long time though."

The girl continued to roll the fabric of her shirt hem between her fingers, but she was making more eye contact than she had at first. _Perhaps she's just been alone too long_, Alex thought. When Molly didn't continue with her story, Alex decided to try leading the conversation.

"Do you know how many days ago the men were here, Molly?" she questioned gently, aware of the girls' fragile state of mind.

Molly seemed to think for a moment, then responded, "Three days ago, I'm pretty sure. It's been kinda hard to keep track, to be honest."

Alex thought Molly's tone sounded sincere, a bit more like the girl she was familiar with. Alex decided to continue her line of questioning while Jake just sat quietly observing the conversation.

"So three days ago some men came in and wanted guns. Did they get them," Alex pressed.

"Yes, they were in the lockup like always," Molly replied, after a brief hesitation.

"How did they get the guns out of the lockup? Did you unlock the door for them?"

"NO! I didn't have the key, I couldn't open it. They waited for Daddy to come home, ambushed him and made him open the cage." Molly's voice was now barely more than a whisper.

Alex thought there was more to the story still. "Where is your daddy now?"

"I told you, Daddy's out checking on some of the ranches nearby." Molly's fingers fretted over the fabric quicker than before.

"That's right, you mentioned it. Do you know which road he took? Or what time he left?" Alex felt Molly was about to break.

"I don't know when, maybe a little after sun up. And I think the only road he could have taken is the one that heads out towards your place. The other two roads outta town have been barricaded." Alex didn't know how Molly's fingers moved so quickly without catching on fire.

Hmm. Finally some useful information. "What do you mean the roads are barricaded? Who built the barricades? Your dad? Are there other survivors around here somewhere?" The questions spewed out of Alex's mouth before she could stop them.

Molly's fingers worked the fabric non-stop, but she answered the questions. "Tim and Billy Jenkins got a big tractor and a tow truck from someone and they moved a bunch of cars into barricades across the entire roadway. Daddy was very pleased with their idea, said it might mean the difference between saving our town or losing it."

"Do you know where Billy and Tim are," Alex asked hopefully. She knew Billy and Tim, they were hands on a ranch not too far from the Lazy H. She knew they were smart and able, like her and Jake.

"They made the bar their outpost in town… they do rounds through the town, check on the barricades, stuff like that," Molly replied.

"So are they working with your dad then? Do they have a plan about what to do?" Alex could feel her hopes getting up, even though she didn't want them too.

"Yeah.. they're working with Daddy. I don't know what the plan is though." Molly continued to rub the material of her shirt in her fingers.

For some reason, Molly's actions were making Alex nervous, and she found herself tensing up, readying herself for some as yet unseen threat as she pushed Molly a little harder. "So when do you think your dad will be home? I'd really like to talk to him about all of this craziness."

"I told you he would probably be back around in the afternoon sometime. He doesn't like to leave me alone at night," she finished.

"Yeah, I bet," Alex replied. This girl didn't seem like she'd be able to make it through a night alone. "Well, you wanna come with us to check out the bar and see if Tim and Billy are there?"

"Sure!" Molly lit up at the offer. She grabbed her knife off of the floor next to her and tucked it into the sheath on her belt. She headed for the stairs with Jake and Alex close behind.

Molly led them out of the building, then let Jake take the lead as they crossed the street to the bar. The windows and front door had been boarded up tightly, so that the only entrance was the back service door. Jake tried to look through the window in the door but it was covered on the inside. Jake knocked on the door and waited.

In just moments, the shade covering the door was violently pulled aside and Jake saw Tim Jenkins' face pop up in the window. Tim broke into a big smile when he recognized their faces and quickly opened the door to let them in to the kitchen.

"Well I'll be damned," he guffawed. "Billy! Git'cher sorry ass over here - we got comp'ny," Tim said excitedly. He pulled each one of them in for a quick hug as they came through the door. When he saw Molly, Tim's face fell. "Hey kid! You been with Jake and Alex this whole time? We were worried about'cha." He went to pull Molly in for a hug, she shied away from the contact at first, but she relented and stood stiffly as Tim embraced her quickly.

"No, I just found them today," Molly said quietly.

Alex heard the exchange between Molly and Tim. She caught Tim's eye as she walked past him and gave him the slightest shake of her head. Tim seemed to catch on and let the subject drop.

"It's so good to see you, Tim," Alex said, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet. "We were starting to think there wasn't anyone else left around here."

"We thought tha same thang. No one else from our place made it… we had ta put tha whole Pritchard family down, as well as tha other two hands that were workin' with us," Tim explained.

Tim and Billy had grown up in Texas but had moved to California at sixteen and eighteen, respectively, to work for the Pritchards who had moved from the same small town in Texas as Billy and Tim. That was almost ten years ago. Jake had been friends with Billy and Tim almost since his first day in town - they were kindred spirits. He was glad that they had made it.

"Yeah, we had to put some of our neighbors down as well. It's a fuckin' nightmare out there," Alex said, backed up by a nod from Jake.

"Yer damn right it's a fuckin' nightmare out there," Billy said as he entered the kitchen, big grin on his face as always. "Ya'll look like you been doin' okay out there. We're gonna start goin' round an' checkin' out tha ranches, seein' if there's any more survivors. Gotta small group tha's livin' in tha self-storage compound, 'bout twenty altogether, men, women an' children. We found em in various places around town, all good folks an' neighbors that we go way back with. Figur'd tha self-storage place was tha safest thing in town, surrounded by that spiked iron fence an' all."

It was Billy's turn to make the rounds giving hugs. Tim shook his head at his brother when Billy saw Molly; Billy didn't say anything more to her, just gave her a quick hug. He invited them all to come sit and relax so they could fill each other in on their experiences thus far.

Billy and Tim took turns explaining their story, how they woke one morning to find the Pritchards all roaming around the house when they showed up for breakfast, how they had almost gotten bitten by the Pritchard children when they didn't want to hurt kids. How they initially locked the family in the house but had to return later to put them down once they discovered the extent of this thing.

"Molly told us you were the ones that set up the barricade. How'd you guys come up with that idea," Jake asked.

Billy and Tim shared an uneasy look with one another.

"Bout four days inta this whole thang we caught some guys sneakin' outta tha sheriff's office with all tha guns an' ammo. Guys we'd never seen before. Knew they were up ta no good, so we confronted 'em then killed 'em when they tried ta get tha drop on us. We checked out tha building, but when we didn't find Molly or Sheriff Riggs, we figured they were out somewhere on rounds. We fixed tha door up an' came 'round every day, but they never showed up. After two days we just figured somethin' bad happened out there. Billy an' I thought we should do somethin' ta prevent any more outsiders from bustin' in ta town an' tryin' ta take all our shit. There were plenty of cars sitting in tha road, on tha side of tha road an' abandoned in tha parkin' lot that we thought they'd be tha easiest thang ta make a barricade from. Took us a two days, but it was worth it," Tim explained.

Billy finished, "We figured we'd block tha two roads that lead here directly from tha highway, leavin' tha road that heads out yer direction as an escape route, should we need it."

"Well you boys're fuckin' smart, I'll give ya that," Jake joked. "We gotta 'nough problems without havin' ta worry 'bout strangers comin' in."

Billy and Tim had caught on by this point and they refrained from asking Molly anything directly.

Molly was still sitting silently, still playing with the fabric on her shirt, ignoring the people around her.

"So what're ya'll doin' in town," Tim asked.

It was Jake and Alex's turn to share their story. The explained about Jake's illness and Manny and the Johnson's, Wheeler's, Branson's, Graham's and the Jensen's. Alex told them that her parents never returned home and that she figured they were dead.

It was quiet in the bar for a moment when a loud knock on the back door startled them.

"That must be Aaron. He wanted ta run out ta his parent's place an' grab some medical supplies fer one of tha men at tha storage compound. Got injured during knife practice yesterday, nothin' too serious, but there isn't much in town an' we didn't want to take tha risk of goin' to tha clinic since it's outside of the barricade. Since Aaron's dad was a doc at tha clinic, he had all kinds of medical stuff that we can use," Billy explained as Tim went to let Aaron in.

"Wait, Aaron Sanders," Alex asked Billy incredulously.

"The one and only!" Aaron boomed in as he entered the room. He strode across the room to Alex, swept her up in his arms and planted a big kiss, right on her lips. Alex was so shocked, by the time she could react, Aaron was already releasing her to stand on her own.

Jake felt his blood boil when the newcomer swept Alex off her feet and kissed her like he had every right to possess her in such a manner. As soon as Aaron had released his hold on Alex, Jake stepped up to him and violently pushed him away from her.

Raising his gun and aiming it at the newcomer, Jake said darkly, "You best keep your fuckin' hands an' lips ta yerself, cuz ya don' wan' me ta do it fer ya. Touch her again an' I'll cut off whatever fuckin' part of yer body ya touch her with. We clear asshole?"

Aaron looked Jake right in the eyes, not saying anything. Alex could feel the tension filling the room and she was suddenly pissed at Jake for treating her like a little kid. She stepped between the two men, placing a hand on each of their chests, gently pushing them apart.

"Jake, this is Aaron, a friend of mine from school. You don't need to be so fuckin' rude to him, he was just happy to see someone he knows, right Aaron," she said, not taking her eyes off of Jake's.

"Well, I admit that I was more than just happy to see you because we know each other. Come on, Alex, don't play coy with me. You know I've been tryin' to get you to go out with me since sophomore year," he said as he moved his hand up to touch Alex's hand on his chest.

Jake exploded, pushing Alex out of the way so he could attack Aaron. "I fuckin' toldja ta keep yer fuckin' hands offa her," he bellowed as he brought the butt of the AR up to connect with Aaron's face. A sickening crack resounded through the near silent room, as Aaron's nose broke and started bleeding profusely.

The Jenkins boys stepped back, not interested in getting involved in the fight or taking sides.

Alex had been knocked to the ground by Jake when he shoved her out of the way, but now she was back on her feet, and fueled by rage. She dropped her AR on the ground and stormed over to Jake, who was standing over Aaron's body on the floor, shoving him violently away from Aaron. "What the fuck is your problem? What the fuck makes you think I can't take care of myself? I ain't some little girl that needs you to save me anymore," she yelled.

Suddenly overcome by the need for solitude, Alex spun on her heel and ran for the back door. She heard Jake call out her name as she ran out into the sunlight but she didn't stop. Her legs carried her to the barricade without even thinking.

Alex sunk down to her knees, facing the wall of cars. She was so pissed at Jake for treating her like a little kid. Hadn't she proved herself day after day since this all started? Hadn't she been the one to nurse Jake back to health; hadn't she made the hard decisions about ending lives? She really wasn't just some kid he had to take care of anymore.

Alex felt her anger surge again and decided she wanted to see what was on the other side of the barricade. She wasn't ready to go back to the bar yet.

**a/n: Sorry for the short chapter, but the next one should make up for it! Thanks for following along so far. Feedback is appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 9 - Day Seven, Part Three

**Note: This chapter is particularly violent and dark.**

**Day Seven**

**Chapter 9**

Alex knelt and looked at the wall of cars. The road was just two lanes, and at the point where they built the barricade, the road was a bridge over the creek that ran through the dense scrub oak that surrounded the town. People and walkers could still come through the woods, but on both sides of the road there was privately owned fenced land, and the fences ran through the woods and up to the side of the road. Walkers would get caught on the fence, but people could get though. It was the perfect place for a barricade, and they could easily reinforce the fences through the woods to make it even safer.

Alex climbed up the barricade of cars and trucks. It looked like the Jenkins boys had pushed and towed vehicles into formation, then somehow got other cars, slightly flattened cars, to stack on top. It looked unstable, but once Alex was up there she didn't feel like it was going to fall down when she moved. Alex took a seat on the top and looked out over the cars. The Jenkins boys weren't kidding about making barricades - they had built the wall about six cars deep, and three cars high. It was pretty impressive to be honest. She was glad Tim and Billy had survived.

Alex looked out over the cars, trying to figure out what had happened in the bar. Everything happened so quickly. One minute, she was excited about seeing her friend alive, the next minute he was kissing her like they had done it a million times before. And then Jake flew off the handle like Aaron had assaulted her or something. Alex didn't understand what had made him so angry, it really wasn't like Jake to make death threats and beat the shit out of someone like he that.

As Alex looked out over the cars, she noticed there was movement in some of them. She froze, thinking that someone was trying to get over the wall. As she continued to watch, however, she noticed that they didn't ever move from the location she spotted them in. She climbed down to get a closer look. The first car that she came upon had moving bodies in the front seat - a man and a woman. Their bodies were decaying rapidly in the enclosed cars, but they had clearly turned. As she looked through other cars, she saw that that was the cause of the movement she'd noticed. The boys had not cleared the cars before using them for the barricade. She hoped that the people were already dead when they'd made that decision.

Alex's attention was drawn to a wine colored Mercedes SUV that was in the bottom layer of the barricade, close to the front of the line of cars. It looked suspiciously like her mom's car. She approached the car with caution.

As she got closer to the rear of the car, her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the _Trust Me, I'm A Nurse_ license plate holder she'd gotten her mom for Mother's Day a couple of years ago. Alex ran the last few steps to the car, coming to a stop at the driver's side door. She stared in horror at the body in the seat; her mother was still strapped in the seat, but she had turned.

She was one of the monsters.

Alex pulled the door open and the rank smell of death and decay assaulted her senses. The smell was so thick, Alex could almost taste it. She just stood there, staring at her mom's name tag. _Hi, I'm Julie_ it said. Alex ran those words over and over in her head, while her mom's reanimated corpse sat trapped by the seat belt, growling, snapping and clawing for the fresh meat in front of her.

Alex felt bile rising in her throat and she turned away to vomit. She raised her eyes to the surrounding area to see if the noise she'd made had attracted any unwanted attention. So far, the only walkers that were aware of her presence were trapped in the cars.

Alex turned back to her mom, a look of determination set on her face. She pulled her knife, told her mom that she loved her and that she was sorry, then plunged the blade into her temple. Her mother was finally silent.

Alex leaned across the body to unbuckle the seat belt, intending to pull her out and somehow get her back over the wall so they could take her home and bury her. Alex maneuvered her arms under the corpse's armpits, then gently pulled to get her out of the car. When the body wouldn't budge, Alex increased the force she was using, tugging on the body with all her might. Alex heard a weird ripping sound, then suddenly she was falling backwards with her mother on top of her. Alex scrambled backwards on her hands and feet to get out from under the body.

Apparently, Julie had suffered some sort of trauma, probably a high speed head on collision, given the deployed airbag and the dried blood running down her face. Upon impact, the seatbelt had caused major damage and internal bleeding across her abdomen, then after sitting in the unventilated car for a week with temperatures ranging in the upper 80's to mid 90's, the abdominal skin was weakened, and when Alex tried to pull the body out of the car, the abdomen ruptured, spilling rotten guts all over her.

Alex was horrified. She just sat there, staring at her mom's guts all over the ground and all over her clothes. Alex couldn't look away. She heard someone behind her and turned to see Molly climbing off the wall.

"What are you doing out here," Molly asked. "Are you okay?" Her voice was sickly sweet and made Alex uncomfortable.

"I'm fine. Go back to the bar. I just want to be alone right now," Alex replied, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. She continued to stare at the entrails on the ground.

"Sorry," Molly replied. "I just saw you climb over the wall and I thought you should have someone watch your back. You didn't see what it was like out here before the barricade went up."

Molly took a few steps closer to Alex, causing Alex to tense up. Spidey sense tingling, Alex's gut told her that something was just not right. She really didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Look, I get that you were here when things went south and I appreciate the warning, but I can take care of myself and I sure as hell don't need some pathetic little girl to watch my back." She felt the rage bubbling up inside her and she couldn't stop the hate from pouring out of her mouth. "What'd ya do to him," Alex spat.

Molly had a confused look on her face. "What did I do to who?"

"Your _daddy_, Molly. I know you did something to him, otherwise you wouldn't be acting so weird and lying about shit."

"Fuck you, Alex! You don't know shit about anything!" Molly screamed at her, stepping up into Alex's face. "You wanna know what the fuck happened to him? Huh? Those bastards tied his hands behind his back, then stabbed him in the gut and tossed him in the closet I was hiding in. I fucking watched him die in there because I was too fucking scared to leave the closet. He died because I couldn't save him; I was a chicken. He fucking died and I was too scared to leave him alone, then he came back as one of those things and I was still too afraid, so I just sat there and watched him snap his jaws and try to throw his body towards me for two days. HE TRIED TO EAT ME, ALEX!" She paused for a moment, then finished, "I did the only thing I could think of…"

When Molly failed to finish her sentence, Alex asked, "What did you do, Molly? What was the only thing you could think of?"

"I ate him before he could eat me." Molly's voice was so quiet that Alex wasn't certain she'd heard the girl correctly.

"You did what," Alex practically yelled. "Are you fuckin' serious? You ate your dad? What the hell is wrong with you, Molly?" Alex was in no way prepared for this conversation. Even in her nightmares the last couple of nights things weren't this level of horrible.

Molly's temper flared at the disgust in Alex's voice. "Don't you dare fucking judge me, Alex Haddley. You've always lived like a god damn princess out there in the hills with your rich parents and your old redneck boyfriend. Walking around the school like you're better than everyone else. Fuck you. You have no idea how I've suffered." Molly was so close now that her nose practically touched Alex's. She flexed her fists compulsively at her side.

"I don't give a shit how you've suffered, you don't eat people, you fucking twit. I don't care what your excuse is. Get the fuck away from me. You're fucking disgusting," Alex spat.

Alex turned away from Molly and back to the grotesque scene that was her mother. She was still shaking with rage, but she was determined to ignore the girl until she went away. Alex would have to talk to Jake, Tim and Billy about Molly's confession and see what they thought should be done with her.

Alex turned back to Molly, but the girl was gone. _Good riddance, _she thought to herself. Alex turned back to her mother's car, feeling behind the driver's seat for the blanket that she knew her mom kept stashed for emergencies. Alex finally felt the soft fleece of the blanket and pulled it out, spreading it near her mother's torso. She gently lifted the upper half of the body onto the blanket, then tried to figure out the best way to get the bottom half on the blanket.

As Alex squatted down to get a better angle on the hips and legs, she felt a sudden heat across her back, then arms going for her neck. Alex immediately pushed herself up from the ground, throwing her head back into her attacker. She heard the crunch of bone as her skull made contact with a nose and then a shrill scream. Alex quickly came to her feet, with her knife in hand, as Molly flailed around on the ground, one hand holding her face while blood dripped down her front. The other hand held a knife with fresh crimson dripping down the blade.

Alex moved to stomp on Molly's knife hand, but the girl was surprisingly quick, rolling aside as Alex's foot sailed through the empty space her body had occupied moments earlier. With Alex off balance, Molly got back to her feet and lunged at Alex's back, this time slashing a little deeper and bringing Alex to her knees. Molly reached with the knife around Alex's head, trying to get to her throat, but Alex got her hand up in time to grip Molly's knife hand and hold it away from her neck. Molly pulled her arm back quickly, slicing Alex's cheek in the process.

Alex took her knife and slammed it into Molly's right foot, causing her to scream and fall to the ground. Alex thought she heard Jake's voice calling her, but she couldn't focus on that right now, she had to deal with this threat first.

Alex stepped on Molly's knife hand, forcing her to let go. Molly began to snap and snarl at Alex like one of the walkers. Alex, with one foot still on Molly's knife arm, kicked her in the ribs with the other foot, causing her to scream. Alex grabbed Molly by the hair and yanked her up to a standing position, slamming her against the nearest car. Alex put her forearm against Molly's throat, crushing her windpipe. She reached behind her to grab her gun out of her waistband, but it wasn't there. Alex knew better than to take her eyes off the girl to look for the gun so she pressed harder against Molly's throat.

Just as Alex thought Molly was starting to fade, she felt a sudden sharp pain in her left side. She eased up on Molly only to realize that the bitch had somehow gotten a small pocket knife and stabbed Alex in the side with it. In the split second that it took Alex to realize she'd been stabbed, Molly jumped on her, taking her to the ground.

And then Molly bit Alex.

Alex felt excruciating pain in her right shoulder, near her neck, where Molly had latched on. Blind rage took over and all Alex could see was red. She reached up with her left hand and managed to hook two of her fingers in Molly's mouth, then pulled hard, tearing the skin of her cheek open. When Molly released her jaws, Alex punched her in the ear, then in the throat, trying to hit her in the windpipe. When she felt Molly's muscles relax on top of her, Alex quickly pushed up, arching her back and knocking Molly off of her. Finally gaining the advantage, Alex kneeled on top of Molly's back, grabbed her head, positioned her hands near Molly's jaw and twisted hard until she heard the girl's neck snap.

Alex rolled off the body and laid there, staring at the cloudless sky. She reached her hand up to the bite wound on her neck, trying to examine how bad the damage was. There was blood, but it didn't seem like Molly had gotten anything important, though there was a small chunk of skin missing. Alex didn't think she was in danger of bleeding out, so she continued to lay there, she closed her eyes for a minute to catch her breath.

Alex opened her eyes when she heard Jake calling her name and felt a gentle shaking. She didn't think she'd closed her eyes for long. When she saw the worried look on Jake's face, everything started coming back to her and she tried to sit up. Jake helped ease her into a sitting position.

"You ok, Al?"

"I think so. Is my neck bad? I can't believe that bitch fucking bit me," she fumed. "I shoulda just shot her when she started actin' funny at the bar. My instincts were telling me that something wasn't right… coulda avoided this shit," she growled as she punched the ground.

Jake was surprised at her outburst.

"Ya couldn't have known she would do somethin' like this. We didn't have any reason ta kill her til she attacked ya," he offered. He inspected her neck, "S', just a flesh wound, didn't get the artery or nothin'. She managed ta get a chunk of ya though. We'll get it cleaned up back at tha bar. Anywhere else hurt?" He continued looking her over, stopping when he saw the blood stains on the back of her shirt. "Wha' happen'd here," he asked, lifting her shirt so he could inspect the wounds.

"Bitch sliced me a couple times with her hunting knife I think, then stabbed me with a pocket knife in the side. Is it bad," she asked.

"Don't look bad ta me, don' think any of 'em went deep enough ta damage anythin'. Ain't bleedin too bad, but Billy mentioned they got a vet at the storage compound that has been fixin' people up when they need it. He went ta get him, said they'll meet us at tha bar shortly," Jake said, watching her with a concerned look on his face.

"How long was I out? I thought I just closed my eyes for a minute," Alex asked.

"Jus' about five minutes. When Molly came out ta look fer ya an' never came back we came outside to see what was goin' on. That's when we heard tha screams. Came runnin', saw tha tail end of tha fight, jus' as you stabbed her in tha foot," Jake replied.

"WHAT!" Alex yelled. "You just stood there and watched as she tried to kill me? What the fuck, Dixon?" Yelling made her neck throb, but she pushed through the pain.

"Naw, it wasn't like that. From tha time ya stabbed her in tha foot ta tha time ya broke her neck was less than two minutes. By tha time we got off tha wall, it was over. I got ta ya just as ya were rolling off her body. 'Sides, weren't ya jus' yellin' at me 'bout comin' to yer rescue, tellin' me you can handle yerself?," he asked.

Alex had all but forgotten the fight in the bar that drove her out to the barricade in the first place. "I shouldn't have said that to you. I know you were just tryin' to protect me, and I can't be mad at you for that. I'm sorry, Jake," she said as she stared at Molly's dead body. "This has turned out to be a shitty day. I'm ready to go home now."

"You an' me both, Al. Gotta couple a thangs ta take care of 'fore we can leave though," he said. Jake ripped part of his shirt off, folded it up into a large square then placed it over Alex's neck wound. She grimaced at the contact, then raised her hand to hold it in place. "An' don' worry 'bout what'cha said in there. I'm sorry I over reacted, but somethin' 'bout that guy jus' rubbed me wrong. We straightened it all out after ya took off. He won't be gettin' all handsy on ya again… 'less ya want 'im to, anyway," he finished lamely.

Jake wouldn't make eye contact with Alex, and as he spoke those last words, he stood up. "Gonna help Tim get'cher mom taken care of, you jus' sit here an' rest," he told her.

Just then, Tim came over with another blanket and some rope. The guys began carefully moving Julie's mangled corpse onto the larger blanket Tim spread out. Once they got both her halves on the blanket, they secured it with the rope. Tim brought enough rope so that they could hoist the body up over the barricade; he and Jake got started setting it up.

Alex sat there, watching them work. It suddenly dawned on her that they had yet to see an actual walker in town. And after all the yelling and noise they'd made during the fight there weren't any lurking around the barricade either.

"Hey Tim, why aren't there any walkers out here? Shouldn't they have come running when they heard us screamin' and fightin'," she asked.

"That's actually a pretty good story, but I'll wait til we get back to tha bar to tell it. Still, we shouldn't linger around out here too long," Tim replied.

Tim and Jake had finished rigging the body in the ropes. Jake climbed up and pulled the body while Tim guided it from the ground. When they got it to the top, Tim climbed up and helped Jake lower it to the ground on the other side. Then they came back for Alex. Jake picked up her gun and pulled her knife out of Molly's foot, placing the knife in Alex's sheath and tucking the gun into his own waistband.

"Come on, girl, let's get'cha to tha' doc," Jake said as he and Tim helped her up.

"I gotta take care of somethin' real quick," she said as she pulled the knife from it's sheath. Alex moved over to Molly's body and sunk the blade deep into the dead girl's eye. Her blade made a squelching sound when she pulled it out.

Alex turned back to Jake and Tim, "Okay, now we can go."

Tim hesitated, "Should we wrap her and bring her in too," he asked, nodding to Molly's body.

"No. She stays," was all Alex said.

Neither Tim nor Jake was about to argue with her. They helped Alex up and over the barricade and made their way back to the bar.

When they arrived, Aaron met them at the door, holding it open for them. He had shoved tissues in his nose to stop the bleeding, but Jake had broken the skin over his nose and the cut was still seeping a little. He was already developing shiners under both eyes.

"What the hell happened out there," he asked.

"Got attacked by a crazy bitch," was all Alex said.

Jake and Tim helped Alex into the chair indicated by the doc, then Tim stepped back while Jake sat next to her and held her hand.

Billy made the introductions, "Jake, Alex, I'm sure you know Doc Hobbs. He's gonna fix ya up real good, kid."

"Yeah, tha doc an' us go way back, used ta' fix up tha' troublesome mutt Al had when she was a kid," Jake said, shaking the doc's hand.

Alex couldn't bring herself to smile at Doc Hobbs. She felt a cold fog rolling in, clouding her mind. Doc assessed her injuries and determined that nothing was critical, but they needed to get the bite wound cleaned up quickly because bites were notorious for getting infected, given all the germs in the human mouth.

"I won't lie, hon, this is gonna hurt like a bitch. Best bite down on this." He pulled his leather belt off, folded it a couple of times and gave it to Alex to put between her teeth. "Try to keep still for me," he said.

Alex clamped down on the belt when Doc started pouring the rubbing alcohol on her shoulder.

"Wound's too big to stitch, but I got some salve that we use for livestock when they get bites or cuts. It's totally safe for people, I've used it on myself and my boys for years. It helps promote healing, and I'd like to get this sucker healed as quickly as possible," Hobbs explained.

"I trust you, doc. I really can't be out of commission, so the faster I heal, the safer I'll be. Go for it," Alex replied.

"Alrighty, but I warn ya, it's gonna feel like you're on fire for a little bit. I got some pain pills you can take to help with that," he finished.

Alex just nodded and braced herself for more pain, placing the belt back between her teeth.

After putting the salve on and bandaging the bite, Doc inspected the stab wound on Alex's side. He determined that nothing had been damaged internally and threw a couple of stitches in to keep it closed. The first cut on her back was shallow and just needed cleaning. It had already stopped bleeding on it's own. The second cut Molly inflicted on her was much deeper, requiring seven stitches. The cut on her cheek required three. Hobbs put the salve on all her wounds before bandaging all but the cut on her cheek. Alex thought his description was perfect - she definitely felt like her skin was on fire. She downed the pain meds the doc handed her then stood up and walked over to the bar to try to distract herself from the pain.

When the doc finished, Jake thanked him profusely while Alex stared into the mirror behind the bar, running her fingers over the stitches in her cheek. When Doc Hobbs saw her, he said, "It could have been much worse you know." He smiled at her in the mirror and patted her gently on her uninjured shoulder.

"Did you guys know that she ate her father," Alex quietly asked Billy and Tim, still not looking away from her reflection.

"What?" Billy sputtered. "She tell ya that?"

"Mmmhmm. She told us he was out on rounds when we found her at her place. Said he'd be back in the afternoon. She was actin' weird the whole time we were talking, and I knew something was off, but I had no idea. When we were out there, before she attacked me, I asked her what she did to her dad, said she must've done something to him for her to be acting so weird. I was pissed at her, I just wanted to be alone and she wouldn't leave. So I got mean. I called her a pathetic little girl and told her I didn't need her help. She got pissed, accused me of being a snobby rich girl, actin' like I'm better than everyone all the time. Told me she was hiding in the closet when the men tied the sheriff up, stabbed him in the gut and left him in there with her. Said she watched him die. Then he turned and just lay there snapping and lunging to get her. Said she did the only thing she could think of, which was eating him first." Alex made a face like something smelled really bad.

"Jesus Christ," Billy exhaled. Around the room there was a collective sigh as everyone let out the breath they'd been holding while Alex talked. "I feel fuckin' terrible," Billy added. "If we had only done a better job searching the place, this wouldn't have happened."

"I hate to be an awful person, Billy, but a girl like Molly wouldn't have made it long in this world anyway. She was too soft mentally. The stress would have cracked her sooner rather than later," Alex stated.

"Jesus, that's fuckin' dark, kid," Tim said.

"Maybe, but it's the truth. She was never really all that stable to begin with. She was one of a handful of girls that I could talk to because we had some classes together and a few shared interests, but she was never really all there. Honestly, I'd rather have her dead than have to try and keep her alive. We got enough problems as it is, we don't need people around that can't carry their own weight." Alex was very matter-of-fact about it, like she was talking about tossing out rotten eggs, not human lives.

"I hate to rain on your parade, kid, but if there are more walkers than healthy humans, we need all the humans we can get. Biologically speaking, we need to have enough breeding stock to keep the species alive. Humans are gonna be in a pretty bad state if the gene pool gets too familiar, if you know what I mean," Doc said amicably.

"Seriously?! You think that bitch didn't deserve it? SHE ATE HER FUCKING FATHER! I don't give a shit how traumatized she was, it's not okay. And did you miss the fact that she tried to eat me too? SHE WASN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN THE MONSTERS OUT THERE TRYING TO FUCKING EAT US!" Alex yelled.

"Now, now, you're getting me all wrong, Alex. I'm not saying there was anything else to do with that poor girl other than put her down, but the general mindset of killing people that can't pull their own weight is dangerous. People can be taught to pull their own weight. Most people these days just don't know how to take care of themselves without a grocery store, but they can learn how to survive out there just like you did. You didn't know how to hunt when you were born, right? Someone had to teach you how to be a successful hunter." He looked over at Jake, who was busy watching Alex's face trying to gauge what her reaction was going to be.

Surprisingly, Alex just remained quiet, staring into her reflection in the mirror.

Alex was tired. Her entire body ached and she just wanted to lay down. Her eyes felt heavy and there was a cold weight settling in her chest. She really didn't want to be arguing about ethics right now. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves.

"Anybody got a smoke," she asked to the room.

"Sure kid," Billy said, tossing her his pack. "Keep 'em."

"Thanks," she said as she pulled the lighter from her pocket and lit up.

"I'm starvin'. We got some food in tha truck if ya'll wanna eat," Jake asked.

"Hell yeah," Billy exclaimed. "I'll take whatever ya'll are offerin'. I'm starvin'."

Jake and Billy ran out to the truck, returning momentarily with the back pack. They handed out all the food that he and Alex brought with them and everyone ravenously started eating. Except Alex. She had refused the sandwich that Jake handed her, insisting Doc take it instead.

"I can't eat anything right now, I'm fine," she insisted.

With that, the bar fell into silence. It was only noon, but Alex felt like she had been up for years. She'd seen so many horrors in a few short hours, her brain was having trouble comprehending it all. She knew the doc was right, that they couldn't just go around killing normal people. She was surprised at how easy the idea came to her, to just kill people that couldn't take care of themselves and would be a burden to those around them. Her head hurt and that damn cold weight in her chest kept getting heavier. She needed to think about something else, to hold that coldness at bay a while longer.

"So, what's the story with the lack of walkers out there, Tim," Alex asked as she exhaled.

"I'm glad you asked," Tim said jovially. "We got ta thinkin' that we needed to block the roads, like we said already. Billy an' me looked around an' figured that people weren't going to come back for their cars, an' there were plenty of 'em, so we "borrowed" a couple of tractors, forklifts and a tow truck, then enlisted about twenty people to do the work."

At this point, Billy took over the story. "We had teams hotwiring and towing cars, used the bucket on the tractors to compact them as much as we could, then used the forklifts to place them. We picked the narrowest parts of the roads, usin' the woods an' tha' creek as natural barriers ta keep people from driving around it. We've thought about ways we can reinforce tha fences in tha woods next ta this barricade, figured we'd tackle that next."

"How'd ya get all this done? Weren't there walkers everywhere," Jake asked.

At this, Aaron chimed in. "Indeed there were! I suggested that we fix a car alarm to go off, then drive it to the little dirt lot on the other side of the highway to lure them away and give us enough time to erect the barricade."

"It was a brilliant fucking idea," Billy added.

"Thank you, sir," Aaron said as he bent at the waist into a deep bow. "Really though, it was a team effort. If these guys hadn't had my back, I wouldn't have made it. There were a couple of close calls out there before we could get back. It ended up luring all the, as you call them, walkers away from the clinic and the gas station, which was where the majority of them were gathered. I guess those were the most populated parts of town when everything started going to shit."

"When did you guys do this," Alex asked.

"We finished this one two days ago and the one further out yesterday. My guess is that they haven't wandered back this way since it's been pretty quiet around here. Until today, that is," Tim added.

"Wait, how did Molly know that you'd barricaded the roads? She told us that you guys had erected the barricades and were working with her dad. But if she was in that closet the whole time, how did she know what you were doing," Alex asked.

"Musta heard us talkin' 'bout it when we came back ta fix tha' door. We were tryin' ta figure out how ta make it work. She must've heard us talkin'," Billy replied.

"What about town? Why ain't there a buncha walkers roamin' all over," Jake asked.

"We been teamin' up an' goin' out every day clearing houses of the dead and bringin' survivors to the compound. So far we got 67 people at the compound an' we've only been through the houses near town. We were plannin' on startin' ta spread out tomorrow, see if we could find more people. Ain't got power in town, been runnin' tha jenny, but at some point we'll run outta gas for 'er. Still got water, though, so that's somethin'. Don't know how long we can last with so many people, but at least we got a strong fence," Tim said.

"Yeah, living quarters are already pretty cramped over there and come winter, with no electricity and such close living quarters, illness could become a real problem. And food supplies will be an issue if we don't start growing some food. There are some legitimate issues to be worked out," Doc Hobbs added.

Jake and Alex looked at each other. They had all of those things at the Lazy H, and plenty of room for people to stay between the bunk house, the main house, the guest house and the barn, which had some space that could be converted into living space. Plus, they could always tow trailers from surrounding ranches to the Lazy H to provide enough living space for everyone. As long as there were enough people to help out with all the work, they really could build a little community. The question was, did they want to bring all these people into their home?

They shared a barely noticeable nod, then Alex said, "Can we meet all the people in the compound, Tim? I'd like to see everyone that's made it."

"Sure thing! We can head over there now if ya want," Tim said.

"Let's go on then," Alex said.

They locked up the bar and jumped into their vehicles to head to the storage compound. Jake and Alex took the opportunity to talk about the idea of bringing the survivors to the ranch.

"I'd be open to it so long as I know everyone. I don't want to have strangers there, at my home," Alex said. "I mean, I get that it's the right thing to do, but it goes back to what you said when we were at the Johnson's, if it comes to us or them, I choose us."

"I agree with ya, Al. I don' wan' a buncha strangers out there either. But if they're people we know, like Billy an' Tim, we could use tha help. It'd be easier fer all of us if we had more bodies ta help out with tha chores an' shit," Jake stated.

"I think we should see who's there, and then decide. I don't think we should say anything to them about it today. We evaluate the situation and go home to talk about it. Agreed?" she asked.

"Agreed."

It only took about five minutes to get to the storage compound. They pulled up to the gate and were greeted by Aaron's younger brother, Zach, who unlocked and opened the gate for them to pull in.

Once parked, Jake helped Alex out of the truck and they followed the Jenkins boys inside the rental office which was attached to the on-site living quarters.

"We can't fit everyone in here, but this is the home base. People have spread out and picked storage units for their own. Found all kinds of useful stuff, even some weapons. Let's give ya'll tha grand tour," Billy said happily.

They followed Billy and Tim around, meeting people and asking questions of the boys as they went. It was pretty clear to Alex that while this space was safe, it wasn't very habitable. As large as the group was getting, they wouldn't be able to be comfortable here for long. People had done a nice job of making it into a living space with the furniture scavenged from the storage units, but that wouldn't keep them warm once the fuel for the generator ran out.

Overall, Alex and Jake recognized most of the people in the compound. The few unfamiliar faces were people that hadn't lived in town long. If she had to guess, Alex would say they knew about ninety percent of the people there. That made Alex much more comfortable about inviting them into her home. She didn't find anyone that she had been particularly close to, but since that was a pretty small list to begin with, she wasn't surprised. Jake found that a few of his buddies were still around, which meant that they would definitely have some good, hard workers if they came to the ranch.

After a couple hours of talking to people and checking out the compound, Jake and Alex decided it was time to head home. Alex was exhausted, her entire body had become one big throbbing nerve and all she wanted to do was go to sleep. The doc had offered her more pain meds, but Alex refused, saying they had stuff at home she could take instead of using his supply. He gave her instructions on bathing and cleaning the wounds and told her he expected to see her in two days, if not before, to check the wounds. He gave her a small container of the salve that he used on her and instructed Jake on how much to apply and when to apply it. Jake told the doc and Tim that they would be back in two days to have Alex checked out, and if they didn't show up, to come to the Lazy H to make sure they were okay.

Jake drove them home slowly, not wanting to have any issues like on their way in. He just wanted to get her home, where he knew she would be safe, get her cleaned up and in bed. They could deal with everything else tomorrow. Or the day after. She was his only concern.

They lucked out on the return trip and weren't confronted with any walkers in the road. Jake noticed a couple that were out in a field, but when he turned to Alex expecting her to be ready to shoot them, she was staring blankly out the window. She hadn't even noticed them. Jake thought she might be in shock. He looked at the poor girl and couldn't help but worry. She'd been through some serious shit in the last six hours, not to mention the shit they'd both been through in the last six days.

Once they were back at the house, Jake carried Alex inside when she failed to exit the truck on her own. She was filthy- her clothes were still covered in her mother's guts, her own blood and Molly's blood. She smelled awful, and didn't look much better. Jake carried her to the bathroom and drew a nice warm bath for her. The doc had said that she needed to avoid soaking the wounds that had been stitched, but that a sponge bath would be ok. Jake figured he could fill the tub up just enough that she could soak her legs, but not get her mid torso wet, where the lowest knife wound was.

Alex was essentially a puppet, making no moves of her own volition. Jake undressed her, opting to cut her shirt off instead of trying to pull it over her arms and shoulders - not like it was going to come clean anyway. After getting the rest of her clothes off, he nudged her toward the tub, but she wouldn't step in, so Jake picked her up and gently set her in the water. He grabbed a washcloth and started cleaning her up, careful to not go over any of her bandages. Once she was clean, he took the bandages off and washed around the wounds with a clean cloth and water.

Throughout the bath, Alex stared at the drain in the tub. She wouldn't talk, wouldn't look at Jake. She was just shut down, the trauma of the day's events had finally hit her. When she was clean, Jake lifted her out of the tub and set her on the toilet so he could dry her off. He carefully patted her dry, then re-applied the salve and bandages. Wrapping her in a dry towel, Jake then carried her to her bedroom and got her dressed in her pajamas. He went and found their supply of pain meds and added ½ of one of her mom's Xanax, to ensure that she got some good sleep. When he tried to get her to take them, however, Alex wouldn't respond to his directions on her own and he couldn't get her to take the meds.

Jake sat on the bed next to her. "Come on, Al. Ya really need ta take this stuff. It'll make ya sleep an' help tha pain go away fer awhile. I can't stand ta see ya like this, kid."

She still said nothing.

Jake left the pills and water on her nightstand and got Alex settled in bed, though she still didn't make any attempt to move on her own. He was filthy, and he needed to clean up before he got Alex dirty again.

"I'm gonna go shower an' change, then I'll come check on ya, 'kay?"

Still nothing.

Jake took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes, then returned to Alex's room. He'd only been gone ten minutes, but she was already asleep. _Well, that's good_, he thought to himself. He silently left the room, keeping her door open so he could hear her if she called him.

It was late afternoon, still early as far as ranch time went. The sun wouldn't set for at least four hours. Jake thought that he should go feed the animals, collect eggs and make sure the horses were still okay in the pasture. He also wanted to put Julie's body in the cool of the slaughterhouse until they could bury her tomorrow. He didn't want anything else to happen to the poor woman's body than had already happened. It wouldn't take much time, but he was afraid to leave Alex alone in the house. He could have had Billy or Tim come back with them, but Alex had seemed okay when they left. It wasn't until the drive home that she shut down.

He decided to run out and do each chore quickly, then return to check on her in between each task. He started with the furthest away from the house - the horses. They were once again agitated and running around the pasture. Jake could see walkers up against the far fence, the same place that Alex had taken out the Jensen's the day before. Jake opened the gate and shooed the horses out, then went to the fence and stabbed the two walkers in the eye. He recognized these people from town, but didn't know them personally. He wasn't even sure that they lived in this area. He left the bodies where they dropped and went back to the house to check on Alex, who was luckily still asleep and didn't look like she'd moved at all.

After feeding pigs and chickens and gathering eggs, Jake returned to the house, only to find Alex sitting up in her bed, eyes wild. She jerked her head in his direction when he entered her room, startled by his presence.

"Hey, there kiddo, how ya doin? Do ya need anythin," he asked quietly. She looked at him but didn't react to his words. Jake wasn't sure what to do. He slowly approached the bed, talking softly the whole time, like he would with a spooked horse, telling her everything he was going to do.

"I'm gonna come sit on tha bed next to ya, Al, so don't freak out," he said as he approached her. Kicking off his boots as he sat on the bed, he told her, "Now I'm gonna sit next ta ya." He talked her through the whole thing until he was settled on the bed with her. She made no movements, showed no sign that she even understood what he was saying. Jake could only think of one other thing to do, something he saw in a movie one time. Still telling her every move he was gonna make before he made it, Jake slowly wrapped her into his arms and laid with her in the bed, her face to his so she could see his eyes. He slowly stroked her hair, whispering what he hoped were soothing words to her as he tried to get her back to sleep. Eventually, her eyes drooped and closed, and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep.

Jake was afraid to move or even breathe for fear of waking her up. The look in her eyes had broken his heart, that steely look of eagles he usually found there was replaced by emptiness. As tough as she was, perhaps this day had broken his girl after all. Not that she was _his_, but she was all he had left. Seeing her like this was awful, and knowing that there wasn't anything he could do was even worse.

Finally, Jake gave in and accepted that nothing else mattered and that he didn't want to be anywhere else but here, protecting Alex in the only way he could. His breathing, too, began to even out and soon he joined Alex in a deep sleep.


	10. Chapter 10 - Day Eight, Part One

**Day 8**

**Chapter 10 **

**Jake's POV**

The next morning, Jake woke bright and early, feeling more rested than he had since the world went to shit. Alex was still nestled into his arms and sleeping peacefully. He was glad that she hadn't woken in the middle of the night with nightmares. He watched her sleep for a moment, then decided to try to go back to sleep. He wasn't willing to move off the bed and risk waking her up and he sure as hell didn't want her to wake up alone.

As he settled his breathing, Jake felt Alex stir next to him. She opened her eyes and smiled at him, stifling it with a grimace as the wound on her cheek stretched against the stitches. Her hand flew to her face, feeling the slightly puckered skin and stitches. Alex's breathing suddenly picked up and she bolted upright, smacking him in the face with her elbow in her haste. Her panicked brown eyes darted around the room, as if she was looking for an exit. She looked at Jake, who had also come to a sitting position. When her eyes met his, Jake heard her breathing gradually slow but her shoulders were still tensed. Jake wasn't sure what to do.

"Mornin', Al. How're ya feelin'," he almost whispered. He wanted to reach out and comfort her but he was afraid she might react poorly to any movement on his part. She had the look of a horse that was easily spooked.

He waited for her to say something, but all Alex did was sit there and watch him.

"Are ya hungry? Ya didn't have much ta eat yesterday," he stated.

Again, no response from her, she didn't even seem to register his words. He was so out of his depth here. He really wished the doc was here.

"Well, how 'bout I make ya some soup? I'm starvin', so I gotta eat somethin'. Ya wanna come downstairs with me," he asked. He didn't want to leave her up here alone, but he was pretty sure she wasn't going to answer him and tell him what she wanted to do.

When she again failed to show any interest in his question, he slowly got up off the bed. Keeping eye contact with her, Jake slowly made his way to her side of the bed, telling her what he was doing as he moved.

"I'm gonna come over ta yer side, Al. Now I'm gonna pick ya up an' bring ya' downstairs with me," he stated in a low, soothing drawl.

He moved to put his arms under her legs and back to scoop her up like a small child. She flinched slightly when his arm made contact with the wounds on her back, but she soon settled into his chest and allowed him to carry her downstairs. Jake settled her on the couch so he could see her from the kitchen, then ran back up to her room to retrieve the meds from the night before and her water glass. He kneeled down in front of her, telling her about the pain meds and asking her if she would take them. She didn't move to take them, so he tried placing one on her tongue and tilting the water glass to her lips letting some spill into her mouth, hoping she would swallow the pill. She wouldn't; the water just dribbled out of her mouth so Jake swiped the pill out of her mouth with his finger. He wiped the water from her chin and neck and sat her back against the pillows.

Jake moved about the kitchen, making a simple vegetable soup for Alex and scrambled eggs and toast for himself. He was pretty sure she wasn't going to eat, but perhaps the smell would wake up her appetite.

Alex didn't move at all the entire time he was cooking. Maybe he would put her in the truck and take her into town to see the doc. She could go for a couple days without food, but she was going to at least need water starting tomorrow. One day without water wasn't good for her, but her body wouldn't go into crisis that quickly.

Jake wolfed down his food standing over the counter in the kitchen where he could keep an eye on both the soup and Alex. When he finished, he scooped some of the broth into a bowl and sat down next to Alex on the couch. He let it cool while she sat there and gently rubbed her hand on her lap.

Jake thought back to when Alex was younger, the first time she ever really experienced tragedy. It was around Thanksgiving, three or four years after he'd come to work for the Haddley's:

_Alex was an energetic child and always managed to get into something around the ranch, but it usually wasn't really that dangerous. Sure, she broke a lot of bones and got lots of cuts and scrapes, sprains, and even a few concussions. But that was all part of growing up in the country. This particular day was rainy and cold, as it had been for weeks causing the creek to turn into a churning mess of debris running near the top of its banks. _

_Alex had gone out to play, like she always did, her dog, Bear, following after her, like he always did. Jake had been working down at the barn most of the day, repairing a saddle and changing the oil on the trucks, not concerned at all that he hadn't seen Alex all day. Until he heard her screaming his name as she came running into the bar, soaking wet, bleeding from a cut on her forehead and covered in mud, panting out something about the dog, the creek and being hurt real bad. Without a moments hesitation, Jake scooped the girl up and put her in the truck, telling her to show him where. _

"_Fff… fence lll...line," she stuttered out through chattering teeth. Jake grabbed his jacket from behind the seat and handed it to Alex, who promptly put it on._

_When they found the dog he was in bad shape. Somehow Alex had managed to drag him out of the water, but he had been beaten up pretty bad by all the large branches and logs in the water. He was bleeding from a number of places on his torso and one of his eyes was hanging out of the socket. _

_After a brief conversation with the girl, Jake picked up Bear and ran back to the truck, Alex close on his heels. He got them both situated in the truck and drove to town as fast as he could. _

_The whole ride to town, Alex didn't say a word. He tried to get her to tell him what had happened, but she just sat there holding Bear's head in her lap and petting him. _

_At the vet's office, Jake called Alex's mom and explained the situation to her. She said she would try to get there as soon as she could but she was in the middle of something with a patient and couldn't get away. She told Jake to make the decision about the dog. _

_Jake wasn't surprised that Julie wouldn't rush over. He ignored the anger he felt bristle up at her lack of concern for the poor girl. It was always like that, he called from the emergency room, she told him to take care of it. It was frustrating and sad, though he was glad he was able to be there for her. That she at least had him. _

"_I'm real sorry, kiddo, but Bear is in bad shape," Doc Hobbs said to Alex as he entered the waiting area. "He was in a lot of pain, so I gave him some medicine to keep him asleep. If you want to see him, now's the time."_

_Alex nodded yes and they all walked back to the treatment room. Bear was laying on the procedure table, covered in a warm blanket. He looked like he was sleeping. As Alex stood and petted Bear, Doc Hobbs pulled Jake aside._

"_It's just a matter of time, really. He's got extensive internal bleeding and a punctured lung, as well as a broken leg and that eye, it can't be saved. That's just the obvious stuff. I hate to be the one to say this, but I think the kind thing to do is to put him down. If he makes it through surgery and if there aren't any complications, he's looking at a long recovery, and for a dog like him I don't see that as being a kindness," he finished. _

_Jake nodded his head at the doc and asked him to give them a few minutes so he could explain the situation to Alex. Jake sat next to her and petted the almost lifeless animal. _

"_What'd he say," she asked, hopefully. "Can he fix him?"_

_Jake felt a little piece of his heart break away at her questions. "Doc says he's hurt real bad, needs lotsa dangerous surgery tha' he might not survive." He paused and gave her a moment to process what he was saying. "Said some thangs can't be fixed an' tha poor guy'll prolly never be tha same, even with tha surgery."_

_Alex looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "It's all my fault, Jake. I fell in and he jumped in and pulled me out of the current. Then he got swept away and partially drowned and beat up by the branches… I tried to get him, I did! But I just wasn't fast enough," Alex sobbed into his shoulder. _

"_S'all righ' kiddo," he said as he rubbed her back in slow, gentle circles. "Can't change nothin' thinkin' like that. Righ' now ya gotta think about what's best for him, know wha' I mean?"_

_Alex nodded._

"_Well, whatd'ya think," he asked._

"_I don't want him to die. He's my best friend!" Alex sobbed out. Jake continued to gently rub her back like he knew her mom would if she were here. _

"_I know, darlin'. But he's sufferin' righ' now, an' Doc said even if Bear makes it through surgery tha recovery's gonna be long an' hard fer 'im. You don' wan' 'im ta suffer, do ya," he asked._

"_No! Of course not! But I don't want him to die, either!" Alex was now full on sobbing, tears and snot running down her dirty, bloody face._

"_Do ya remember when ya were little an' yer mom told ya tha' doing tha wrong thang was always easy but doin' tha right thang was almost always hard," Jake asked her._

_Alex nodded again._

"_Think this is one a those times, kid. When ya think about it, which choice is best fer him, not you," he asked. _

_Alex thought about it for a few minutes. "The easy choice is the one that doesn't hurt me as much, he has the surgery and I get to keep him with me. But it shouldn't be about me, it should be about what's best for him and he doesn't deserve to suffer." _

_Jake smiled at the girl, then wiped her face with a tissue. "Atta girl. I know it's hard an' don't seem fair, but it's tha right choice for 'im." Jake gave Alex a big hug before waving the doc over and giving him a brief nod. _

_Julie was home by the time Jake carried Alex in from the truck. He'd taken her by the clinic to get her forehead cleaned and stitched before going home. Julie climbed into Alex's bed and had Jake put her between her legs so she could brush the girl's tangled hair. Alex hadn't said anything after telling Jake she understood what was best for Bear and he was worried that it had been too much for her, that she wasn't old enough to have been part of that decision. But as Julie brushed and hummed, Alex began to talk to her about Bear, what had happened that day, all the times he'd saved her over the years. Jake was happy that she was talking and he left them to it. _

Jake stirred from the memory, suddenly remembering that every time Alex got hurt, her mother would sit and sing or hum to her while brushing Alex's hair. She needed comfort that her mother would've offered her. He went and retrieved Alex's hairbrush from her bathroom, then went back and climbed onto the couch behind her, his long legs snug against hers across the couch, explaining his movements to her as he went. This time, she didn't flinch when he settled in and his body brushed against her back.

Jake gathered Alex's hair away from her face and began gently brushing it, careful to avoid pulling too hard on the tangled spots. He couldn't remember how the song went that her mom had hummed to her all those years ago, but Jake figured anything soothing might help. He searched his brain for a soothing song while he continued to brush Alex's hair. He finally remembered an old John Denver song that his mom had sung to him when he was little. Jake spent the next hour humming to Alex and gently, carefully, brushing her hair.

He had all but given up that this was going to work when he felt Alex move her hand and set it on his leg, above his knee. He continued humming for a moment, then fell silent, still brushing her hair. He felt her grip his leg slightly before she spoke one sentence.

"I wanna bury mom at the top of the mountain." Her voice was raspy and quiet, not much more than a whisper.

"Okay, Al. We'll do whatever ya want. Jus' tell me what ta do, darlin'." He set the brush down and wrapped his arms carefully around her, making sure she was okay with the contact, then brought her back to lean against his chest. He kissed her on the top of her head and started humming again. Within a few minutes, Jake felt Alex's breathing even out as she fell asleep.

After two hours of her sleeping on him, Jake really needed to get up to relieve himself. He hated to risk waking Alex, but it was becoming urgent. He tried to move as carefully as possible, so as not to disturb her. By some miracle, she didn't wake up, just shifted a bit as he leaned her back against the pillow.

Relieved, Jake returned to the living room, grabbing the untouched soup bowl and returning its contents to the pot on the stove, and turning the heat to low. He was going to make sure she ate something before they headed up the mountain to bury Julie. It was still well before noon, and he was sure he could get the job finished today, provided there weren't any surprises to deal with. They would likely have to build a rock cairn on top of the grave because where Alex wanted to bury her was very rocky and had maybe a couple of feet of soil before hitting solid granite. There were plenty of rocks that would suit their purpose near the rock outcropping that he was pretty sure Alex wanted her mom buried near.

When the soup was warmed, he again placed some in a bowl and brought it to the couch. He gently rested his hand on Alex's forearm and started talking to her quietly while rubbing her arm until she woke up. This time she didn't startle awake, which Jake was very happy for.

"Ya gotta eat somethin' so we can get ta work carin' fer yer mama," he told her softly. He sat on the couch, pulling her legs over his lap, before taking a spoonful of soup and bringing it to her lips. Alex watched him for a moment before she parted her lips and took the broth into her mouth.

Jake gave her a big smile, "At's a good girl, gotta keep yer strength up," he said, feeding her another spoonful.

She still wouldn't talk, but she ate the entire bowl of soup, and that was good enough for now. Jake was sure she would be okay, given enough time, but he wasn't sure that the world would allow them that time. Finally satisfied that she'd eaten something, Jake carried Alex back to her room to get her dressed and out of her pajamas so they could get moving. He really didn't want Julie's body sitting in the back of the truck any longer than absolutely necessary, since he hadn't gotten to leave it in the cool of the slaughterhouse like he'd wanted.

Jake picked out clothes that Alex would pick out for herself, not the things that would be easiest to get her into. Just in case something happened while they were out there, he didn't want her underdressed and unprotected. Sweatpants wouldn't cut it out there. He struggled a bit getting her into her jeans and he was relieved when she lifted her hips off the bed to help him get them on her. He then checked Alex's bandages, glad to see that the wounds weren't oozing blood. The cut on her cheek was a bit red and looked like it probably hurt pretty badly. He got her undershirt and long sleeve flannel on, then carefully rubbed some more of the salve on Alex's cheek. After her socks and boots were on, she was ready to go.

Jake packed food and water in their pack and took it and the guns out to the truck. He made sure Alex had her knife on her belt then carried her out to the truck, since she didn't move when he told her it was time to go. Jake stopped at the barn to get shovels, a pick axe, a wheelbarrow and a couple other tools he might need if he had to bust up some granite to dig a big enough grave. Then they headed up the mountain the same way Alex followed the Wheeler's up the mountain.

When they finally arrived at the top of the mountain, roughly two miles beyond the meadow where Old Man Wheeler died, Jake parked the truck and got out to set up a little area for Alex to sit while he dug the grave. He spread a blanket under some shade and set the backpack on it, then carried Alex over to it, setting her down gently. Grabbing the tools from the truck, he quickly got down to work.

Jake had dug for an hour, checking on Alex intermittently. This time when he looked up, she was no longer on the blanket. Instantly panicked, he dropped the shovel and looked around, only to find her sitting on the tailgate of the truck, one end of her mother's wrapped body laying across her lap. She looked peaceful, her face relaxed as she ran her hand over the blanket wrapped body. Jake went over to the blanket and grabbed a water bottle, then wandered over to the truck.

Alex looked up at him after he stood there for a few moments, drinking from the bottle. Now that he was close up, Jake could see that Alex's eyes were glassy and red. She must have been crying quietly. He instantly felt guilty for not noticing while he'd been digging. He started to say something to her, but stopped, reaching out his hand instead and resting it on Julie's wrapped body. Jake looked at the body, then back at Alex. He didn't have words for this, he had no idea what to say to her. So he just stood there silently. Slowly, Alex reached her hand over and placed it on Jake's, giving it a small squeeze before returning her hand to where it rested on her mom.

"Almost finished," he grunted to her before turning back to the grave.

Alex sat like that with her mother until Jake was finished and came to retrieve the body from the truck. Alex let him take her, climbing out of the truck to follow him to the fresh hole in the ground. Jake carefully lowered Julie's body into the hole, then took the wheelbarrow from the truck and collected rocks from the surrounding area. He'd only been able to dig about two and a half feet down before he'd hit the layer of granite, so they were going to have to cover the dirt mound with rocks like he'd expected.

On his third return trip to dump the rocks from the wheelbarrow next to the grave, Jake found Alex had climbed into the hole and curled herself up on her mother's wrapped corpse. He regretted not filling the dirt in before he started gathering rocks, but he'd thought it'd be good to give her as much time alone as possible to say goodbye, if she could. His heart broke seeing her like that.

Jake knelt next to the hole. "I'm real sorry, darlin', but it's time ta cover her up now. I'm gonna pick ya up, okay," he said as he leaned in to pick her up.

Alex didn't move as he lifted her up, once again taking her to the blanket and setting her down. He sat there for a moment and had some water, then offered her the bottle. He was pleasantly surprised when she lifted her hand and took the bottle, raising it to her lips and taking a tiny sip. He wished she'd drink more, but at least she'd done it for herself and that was a start.

Jake filled in the dirt then began the tedious task of covering the mound with rocks. Alex watched Jake work for awhile then she came and joined him, considering each rock before carefully placing it on the growing pile. They worked silently like that for the next hour, Jake occasionally taking the wheelbarrow to gather more rocks. He wished he had some flowers for Alex to place on the grave, but it was the wrong time of the year for wildflowers. He kept his eye out for a pretty bush or shrub he could cut some branches off of so there was at least something.

Alex was busy placing the rocks; she had built a very sturdy cairn, about three feet tall. Jake told her to wait there for a minute while he went to the trees a few feet away. They were manzanita and they had a beautiful dark maroon colored bark and nicely shaped branches. The wood was extremely hard and difficult to cut, but Jake managed to get enough branches to put together an odd little arrangement of sticks. It wasn't flowers, but it wasn't unattractive either. It was actually rather fitting given their surroundings.

Having completed stacking the rocks, Alex sat next to the grave, staring at it, mindlessly rubbing her hands together in her lap. Jake presented the arrangement to Alex, hoping she wouldn't be disappointed with it. She took it carefully, giving Jake the slightest of smiles.

"Ya wanna say somethin', Al," he asked her as he joined her on the ground. He took her silence as a no.

"Ya want me ta say somethin'," he tried.

"Jus' wanna sit," she whispered. She leaned forward to place the branches against the cairn, then sat back and relaxed against Jake's shoulder. He lifted his arm and tucked her into his side, then they sat there in silence until the sun started to get low in the sky.

Jake finally broke the silence, "We should prolly get back down tha mountain 'fore it starts ta get dark."

"Ain't leavin'," Alex grunted. She sat up and moved to put a little distance between their bodies.

"It's gonna be cold tonight an' I didn't bring nothin' ta keep ya warm out here," he told her gently.

"I'm stayin," she said clearly.

Jake wasn't about to start an argument with her, but he also wasn't just going to let her stay here without any sort of gear. He should have known that she was going to want to stay up here. He couldn't very well pick her up and make her go either. Even he knew that would be a terrible thing to do to her.

"How 'bout I go getcha some warmer gear an' tha sleepin' bags an' we can camp up here tonight," he offered.

Alex looked at him in the eyes for the first time in hours. "Okay," she stated.

"Alrigh'. I'll jus' go get our stuff an' come back then," he said calmly. When Alex failed to acknowledge his words he added, "Please be careful, Alex. Don' know what I'd do if anythin' happened ta ya."

He momentarily considered that leaving the AK with her would be a bad idea, but he couldn't leave her with just her knife either. He placed the gun on the ground next to her, then shook the blanket from the ground off and wrapped it around her shoulders. He left the pack and water bottle within her reach, adding his pack of cigarettes to the pile as an after thought before he got in the truck and headed back to the house to gather her things.

By the time Jake got back to the house it was dark. He quickly gathered their camping gear and tossed it in the truck, along with some food and more water. He hoped that she would be ready to move on tomorrow, since they needed to go back to town to see the doc, but he brought extra first aid supplies for her wounds just in case.

Jake got back in the truck and headed towards the mountain trail, his worries about Alex the only thing on his mind. In the distance, near the locked front gate, Jake saw a beam of light. It had to be from a flashlight, which meant someone was at the gate trying to get in.

Jake pulled his AR across his lap from where it rested against the passenger seat and pulled up to the gate. He killed the engine, but left the lights on, directing them where the flashlight beam had been.

"Alrigh'," he called as he stepped out of the truck, gun pulled tight to his shoulder and at the ready, "Best come on out now. I got an itchy trigger finger in tha dark," he threatened.

"Now, now, no need for violence," came the response from the stranger stepping from the shadows. "I swear, I'm not looking for any trouble. Just looking for a safe place to crash for a few days while I try to figure out my next move," he explained, holding his hands out in front of him.

Jake's gut screamed out to him that this guy was up to no good, no matter how likely his story seemed. There was just something about him. Jake wasn't about to let this guy anywhere near Alex.

"Sorry, pal, but we ain't got room fer no one else," he stated plainly, not taking his eyes of the man's hands.

"Aw, come on now, I know that's not true. Place as big as this spread? Must have room for at least a dozen people, right? Can't keep a place like this runnin' without warm bodies," he said as an evil smile spread across his thin lips.

Jake finally recognized this man. He had worked in the permits department for the county and Jake had dealt with him on occasion when they had to pull permits for work on the property. He was always an arrogant asshole, abusing his "power" by denying permits if he didn't like someone or making them jump through extra hoops to get approved. Alex's dad had gone over the man's head several times over the years because he was dicking them around for no legal reason. This guy knew everything about the ranch, all the buildings, the solar power setup, everything they'd ever had to pull a permit for he had access to. He wasn't here to figure out his next step. This WAS his next step.

"Like I said, we ain't got room fer no more. You should go on an' git movin'," Jake replied. He was ready for the ambush he knew was coming. The man had talked about needing warm bodies to keep the place running, meaning he brought friends. Jake hadn't heard anything to indicate he had friends, but Jake was certain they were out there. He slowly took a few steps back towards the driver's door that he'd left ajar.

"Well, friend, I don't particularly feel like movin' on. So we're gonna have to come to some terms." He took a menacing step towards the gate, moving his hands down to his sides.

"Terms, eh," Jake responded, tensing his muscles as he got ready to move. "Alrigh', I got some terms fer ya," he called as he shot the man in the chest and dove for cover behind the truck. He was instantly on alert for the sounds of others moving in the brush and dried grass, but it remained silent. Jake wished he'd brought the night scope for his gun. This would be over with already.

He reached up and turned the keys in the ignition, the truck's engine roaring to life. He flipped the lights off and slipped to the back of the truck, happy that he was wearing dark clothes. The moon had not yet risen, and Jake felt he had the advantage in the dark on his own turf, especially with the engine noise covering any sound he might make. He had to do something to make sure that Alex was safe, he couldn't just sit there.

Jake worked his way back from the truck, deeper into the shadows where he blended with the brush and blackberry bushes. He took a guess as to where the asshole's friends were hidden, assuming they would pick the same places he would have. He stealthily climbed through the fence a few yards from where he expected someone to be hiding, silently settling himself into a prone position to wait. He didn't wait long; Jake heard a twig snap as the man shifted his position. Now that Jake knew where the man was, it was easy to make out his shape in the dark. Jake carefully aimed for the man's head and squeezed the trigger. There was a sickening sound as the bullet tore through the man's skull before he slid to the ground.

The as yet unseen third man rose from the shadows to Jake's left, not far from where he'd dropped the first man. Jake waited as the man moved closer to his hiding spot before he too dropped from a gunshot to the head.

Jake waited patiently for more sounds but didn't hear any. He crawled over to the body closest to him and, hugging the ground, turned the flashlight on in the dead man's hand, pulling his body as far away as possible from the light source. As suspected, he heard a shifting slightly behind him and turned to face the last assailant. As he positioned himself he heard a silenced bullet go buzzing by his head. Jake fired in the direction the shot had come from, hearing a man groan as the bullet found it's target.

Jake hurried to the wounded man, certain now that there weren't any more out there. The man tried to raise his gun to shoot Jake but Jake kicked it away effortlessly and bashed the man's head in with the butt of his rifle, then sunk his knife through the man's eye. Jake quickly moved to the other men and repeated the action, ensuring they would not come back. He gathered their weapons and checked each man for anything useful. Other than a handful of guns and ammo, the only thing of interest was the map in the pocket of the first man. It was a map of the entire county, outlines of each property marked off and a handwritten key showed that he had marked out all of the amenities the permit department would know about or have access to - wells, solar installations, buildings, even the number of people that might be on each property.

It was a little creepy how much this man knew about them. He would have to talk to Billy and Tim about this, if this guy was able to come up with this idea, maybe others would too and they would need to prepare for it. Jake hurried back to the truck with his findings, setting them in the passenger seat as he headed back up the mountain to Alex.


	11. Chapter 11 - Day Eight, Part Two

**A/N: Okay, lots of flashbacks/memories in this chapter as Alex works through her grief. Italics indicate thoughts and memories. Hope it's not confusing :)**

**Day 8 - ****Chapter 10**

**Alex's POV**

Alex felt warm and comfortable, happy for just a moment as she came to consciousness. She opened her eyes and saw Jake looking back at her, bringing a genuine smile to her face. Pain suddenly burned across her cheek as the wound stretched against the stitches, causing Alex to make a face, her hand flying up to feel the cause of the pain. Suddenly, it all came back to her, everything she'd gone through settling like a stone in her chest, making it hard to breath. She became panicked; gasping for breath, Alex shot up, hitting Jake with her elbow in the process. Her eyes flew around the room, slowly registering where she was. She finally settled her eyes on Jake, now sitting on the bed next to her. Alex felt her chest relax slightly, finding each breath easier.

As Alex stared at Jake, a cold, empty feeling spread over her, starting as a knot in her stomach that slowly spread through her entire being, forcing everything else out. The room around them faced to a grey blur and sounds became distant, faded echoes in her ears. Alex let go, allowing the emptiness to consume her.

Alex could hear her mother humming a song:

_She was a kid again and she'd just had to put her dog down because of his injuries. Injuries he'd sustained saving her life. Alex had failed to protect him like she was supposed to, like her father had told her when he gave her the dog. Alex felt cold in her stomach, like she'd swallowed a block of ice as she remembered being in the freezing water again._

_She'd been out playing all day in the cold rain, climbing her favorite tree near the orchards that had branches reaching out over the swollen creek. A gust of wind caused Alex to lose her balance and she fell out of the tree, into the cold water, hitting her head on a branch and cutting her forehead open. Momentarily dazed, Alex gulped down water as she tried to catch her breath. _

_The water was too deep for her to touch the bottom and she was being pushed downstream quickly. Her body was being pummeled with branches and other debris under the surface. Alex tried to kick herself to the side of the creek so she could grab on to the man-made rock wall, but every time she got close and managed to get her fingers into a crevice, she'd get hit with debris again, and it pushed her further downstream. _

_Alex was desperately trying to keep her head above water, but she was quickly getting tired. Her clothes were heavy and dragging her down and her body was getting numb from the cold water. She knew that she wasn't very far from the end of the line - just past their property line, the creek dropped down into a steep walled canyon, where she would have no chance of climbing out. _

_Alex heard barking and looked up to see Bear running along the creek's edge after her. She kept trying to swim to the side of the creek, hoping to grab on to a rock or root or anything that she could use to keep from going any further downstream. When Alex looked up again, Bear was gone. She heard a splash behind her and turned to find Bear swimming up behind her. He latched on to her sleeve and began trying to pull her to the water's edge. They were coming up on a natural crossing, where the water was usually shallow making it easy for deer and livestock to get across. While the water was definitely not shallow now, it was still her best chance to get out of the creek. _

_Alex managed to grab hold of a tree root that was sticking out of the bank, then she worked her way down to pull herself ashore at the crossing. She heard a yelp behind her and realized Bear was no longer next to her. Rolling over on the bank, Alex looked around for Bear, just in time to see him pulled under the water by a large tree branch. Panicking, Alex ran along the shore trying to catch up to him. _

_Alex found him tangled in a buildup of branches and other debris that had gathered at a bend in the creek. As she watched, a giant branch came sailing down the creek, slamming into Bear and pinning him in place. As the water pushed against the branch, it rolled over, dragging Bear under the water. The creek bank at this point was less steep and Alex climbed down to the tangle of debris. Balancing carefully, she reached down and managed to pull Bear's head up above water. He was heavy, nothing more than dead weight. _

_Slowly, Alex managed to pull the dog out of the water and onto the bank. She took off her long sleeve flannel and tied it around Bear's chest, then knotted the sleeves together so they formed a loop, using that to pull him up the embankment. Once at the top, she untied the shirt and looked over his body. _

_Bear was not awake, though she could see that he was still breathing, albeit shallowly. Now that he was out of the water she could see that he was bleeding from numerous puncture wounds along his ribs and stomach. One eye was partially hanging out of its socket and when she got close to him, she could hear a gurgling noise with each breath. _

_Alex knew that she couldn't carry or drag Bear back to the barn. She hated to leave him alone, but she needed to go for help. Alex tied the shirt around him again and pulled him off the embankment and down into the brush where the rain didn't fall so hard. She made Bear as comfortable as possible then ran to find Jake as fast as she could._

_When Alex found Jake in the barn she managed to get out the details, "Bear - creek - hurt bad," she panted out. _

_Jake grabbed her and they jumped in the truck. The truck couldn't make it all the way down the narrow trail that followed the creek, so he got them as close as he could and they walked the rest of the way in. Alex showed Jake where she'd hidden Bear, who was still not awake and looked to be breathing even shallower breaths than before. Jake's face showed no emotion as he looked over the dog, running his hands over every inch of his body. _

"_How long was he under water fer," he asked._

"_Not sure. I saw him under water for a couple of minutes, but he was out of sight for a few minutes before that. He's gonna be okay, right Jake? He jumped in the water to save me, he's gotta be okay," she cried. _

"_Not sure, kid, but he don' look too good. Let's git 'im to Doc Hobbs an' see what he can do," Jake said._

Her mom hummed while she brushed out Alex's hair, and Alex relished the moment… and then slowly the thought seeped into her brain that it wasn't her mother humming… it was deeper, a man's voice… it didn't smell like her mother either, there was something else, something she couldn't define. Alex noticed her hand in her lap and raised it to the leg next to hers. It was strong and muscular, not soft and supple like her mother's.

Jake. Jake was humming to her and brushing her hair like her mother had.

_That's right, mom was one of those monsters and I had to stab her in the head and now it's just me and Jake, _she thought.

_Mom._

"I wanna bury mom at the top of the mountain." She couldn't get anymore than that out. It hurt to say it out loud.

Jake said something to her that she didn't understand, then she felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her into his warmth and she found herself unable to keep her eyes open.

The next thing Alex remembered was waking to Jake telling her she needed to eat something. This time she was able to understand his directions, but she still didn't have anything to say back. The sad emptiness still filled her and it was all she could do just to swallow the soup Jake insisted she eat.

Later, when they drove past the barn, Alex remembered her fifteenth birthday. Her parents had thrown a big party, inviting the few friends she had from school and all her family's friends. Alex had been surprised that they threw her a party at all, especially since it was her fifteenth and not her sixteenth birthday. When the time had come to open her presents, Jake pulled up in a large flatbed truck, the contents of the flatbed covered in a huge white sheet with a red bow on it. Her father made a big speech about how he was proud of her for being such a strong-willed, intelligent young woman with a bright future ahead of her. He told everyone how proud he was of her hunting skills, her marksmanship and her endless curiosity about the world around her. When her father pulled the sheet off, unveiling Alex's present, he saw the look of disappointment on his only child's face. Alex would never forget what he then told her:

"_Don't think of it as a thirty year old truck that needs to be completely rebuilt. Think of it as a puzzle. I am giving you the gift of learning and understanding. This truck will teach you many things that I know will serve you well in the future. You will learn how to rebuild an engine, what a head gasket is and how to change it. Most importantly, you will learn patience and independence, two qualities that will be beneficial to you as you go through life. I know I'm not here enough, but I can rest easy knowing you are in good hands with Jake, and I know he teaches you the same lessons I would. I expect you two will have this puzzle put together long before you can get your driver's license."_

Once they reached the top, Jake carried Alex to the little blanket he'd set up for her in the shade so she could rest while he dug the grave. Alex watched him intermittently, her eyes focusing on Jake, then the hole he was digging, then her mother's body in the back of the truck, then watching the red tailed hawks glide in circles high above them in the sky, and back to Jake again.

After a while, Alex stopped watching Jake and the birds, bringing her eyes to rest on her mother's body in the bed of the truck. Alex quietly made her way to the truck, climbing up on the tailgate and bringing the closest end of the wrapped body to rest on her lap. Alex sat there, thinking back to the day her dog died.

_The drive to town was a blur, all Alex could focus on was the limp, mangled body on her lap. By the time they got to the vet's office, she was totally numb, both from the cold and from the weight of her sadness. _

_She tried to listen to Doc when he talked to her, but all she heard was 'bad shape,' a lot of pain,' and 'want to see him' before she was nodding yes. _

_Bear was covered with a blanket on a table in a back room. All Alex could think was that he looked like he was sleeping. She stood there and petted him while Jake talked to Doc Hobbs. _

"_What'd he say," she asked hopefully when he returned to her side. "Can he fix him?"_

"_Doc says he's hurt real bad, needs lotsa dangerous surgery tha' he might not survive." He paused. "Said some thangs can't be fixed an' tha poor guy'll prolly never be tha same, even with tha surgery."_

_All Alex could think was that it was her fault and the tears started to pool in her eyes. She cried to Jake about how it was her fault and that she tried to save him but she was too slow. Jake did his best to soothe her, but Alex found herself wishing her mom was there. _

Alex was roused from her memory by the sound of Jake approaching the truck. She watched him drink from the water bottle, his eyes on her the whole time. He looked awkward for a moment, as if he was trying to decide on what to do, when he instead reached out and placed his hand on her mother's corpse. He looked from it to Alex and back again. She was glad he didn't say anything. She slowly reached her hand out to cover his, giving it a small squeeze before pulling back.

"Almost finished," he grunted to her before turning back to the grave.

Alex continued to sit with her mom, returning to the memory of Bear's last day.

_Jake talked to her about how much Bear was suffering and told her that it wasn't fair for him to have to suffer. Then he reminded her of a conversation she'd once had with her mom, something that her mom reminded her of off and on over the years. _

"_Do ya remember when ya were little an' yer mom told ya tha' doing tha wrong thang was always easy but doin' tha right thang was almost always hard," Jake asked her._

_Alex nodded. Of course she remembered. She always thought her mom was wrong, that sometimes the right choice had to be easy to make. This wasn't one of those times. _

"_Think this is one a those times, kid," Jake echoed her thoughts. "When ya think about it, which choice is best fer him, not you," he asked. _

_Alex thought about it for a few minutes, finally realizing that Jake was right. "The easy choice is the one that doesn't hurt me as much, he has the surgery and I get to keep him with me. But it shouldn't be about me, it should be about what's best for him and he doesn't deserve to suffer." _

_Jake smiled at her, then wiped her face with a tissue, trying to clean the blood off. _

Alex was again brought out of her reverie, this time by Jake coming to retrieve her mother's body from the truck. She climbed out of the truck and followed him to the fresh grave, watching him carefully while he lowered her into the ground. Alex sat next to the grave, staring, while Jake went about gathering rocks to cover it with.

_They went by the clinic where the nurses all fussed over Alex, giving her candy and stickers just like they had when she was little. They patched her up and sent her on her way, issuing the same warnings to Alex that they always did. Alex didn't care, they couldn't understand. _

_Julie was home by the time Jake carried Alex in from the truck. Julie climbed into Alex's bed and had Jake put her between her legs so she could brush the girl's tangled hair. Alex hadn't felt like talking at all, but something about her mom trying to soothe her made her tongue loosen and she started telling her mom everything that had happened. _

"_I'm proud of you for being so strong today, Alex," her mother said. "I know it was a hard decision to make, but you made the right choice. Bear didn't need to suffer any more than he already had."_

_For some reason, her mother's words hit her wrong and a flash of anger went through her. "I know, Mom. Jake already talked to me about this. HE helped me make the decision, since, as usual, you weren't there." Alex didn't know what came over her. She never talked to her parents like that. _

"_Don't be rude, Alexandra. We raised you better than that," Julie admonished. _

_Alex bit back her response of 'yeah right, YOU raised me,' and instead said, "You're right, mom. I'm sorry for being rude." _

_After that, Julie got up and made her way to the door, leaving her daughter with one last word. "You know, you're very lucky to have Jake. Someday he won't be with us anymore and you will have to face the difficult things on your own. What will you do then?" Julie didn't wait for a response before she closed the door and left Alex to her thoughts._

Jake's quiet voice broke into her memory, "I'm real sorry, darlin', but it's time ta cover her up now. I'm gonna pick ya up, okay," he said as he leaned in to pick her up.

Alex didn't realized that she had climbed into the grave with her mother's body. She allowed Jake to carry her back to the blanket, taking the water bottle when he offered it to her. She watched as Jake went back to work, filling in the dirt first, then placing rocks on the mound.

Alex was pained watching Jake do all the work. After all, this was her mother, she should be taking care of her. Alex crawled over to join Jake, intensely studying each rock before placing it on the pile. Alex focused only on the task in front of her, slowly building the rock cairn up to about three feet tall. When she was finished, she just sat there staring at it, rubbing her hands repeatedly on her jeans.

When Jake presented her with the manzanita branches, she was overcome with appreciation of such a simple gesture. Alex had been sad that she would not be able to put flowers on her mother's grave, but here was Jake, solving yet another problem for her. She really didn't know what she'd do without him. Ever since he'd come into her life he'd been looking out for her and taking care of her. She felt a small smile creep across her lips when she looked at the branches. It was simple and perfect.

Alex suddenly realized it was time to say goodbye to her mom when she understood the purpose of the branch arrangement. That was the last thing she'd seen people do at a funeral - place flowers on the casket. She wasn't ready though.

"Ya wanna say somethin', Al," Jake asked as he sat next to her on the ground.

Alex didn't want to say anything because it would make it final.

"Ya want me ta say somethin'," he tried.

She realized what she wanted was to be still for a while. "Jus' wanna sit," she whispered.

She placed the branches against the cairn, then sought comfort from Jake, relaxing into his side when he wrapped his arm around her as she sat back.

When the sun finally started going down, Jake tried to get Alex to go back to the house with him, but she wasn't ready to leave.

"Ain't leavin'," Alex grunted. She felt betrayed that he expected her to leave already and she moved to put distance between them.

He tried again to convince her to come with him, but in the end he just wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, set her gun and some supplies by her side and told her he would be back with her camping stuff when she insisted that she wanted to stay up here without him.

With Jake gone, Alex decided she needed to build a fire. She used some of the rocks that Jake had gathered to build a little fire pit with walls so that the fire would be less noticeable from a distance, more out of habit than necessity. She gathered wood, built a teepee around her tinder and lit the fire, pushing back the shadows that had now fallen around her.

Alex was glad Jake had left his cigarettes, and she lit one while she continued to tend the fire, building it up so she didn't have to pay attention to it for a little while. While she stared into the fire, Alex began to run the previous day's events through her head. She'd killed a girl who was trying to both kill her and eat her. EAT her! The fact that that was a thing she now had to worry about was insane. Alex had known Molly since they were in middle school together, and now her life was over at Alex's hands. Literally. Alex had broken the girl's neck with her bare hands. She spread her fingers out in front of her, examining her hands in the fire light. _Are these the hands of a killer,_ she asked herself. Her hands didn't look any different than they had yesterday.

Alex heard a growl from behind her, near the fence. She turned and saw a walker pressing up against the barbed wire fence, reaching for her. Alex got angry at the damn thing for interrupting her, couldn't she just have one day without having to kill something?

She stormed over to the fence and sunk her knife into the things eye without hesitation, leaving him to fall to the ground. She waited silently for a moment, listening for other walkers, but she didn't hear anything other than the normal sounds of the night. She went back to the fire and settled in.

Molly was crazy, Alex was certain of it. And that crazy may have already been there, prior to the trauma of losing her father, but Alex wasn't sure. Thinking back on it, she didn't think that Molly was any weirder than Alex herself was. Julie would probably have told her that Alex was just a girl that had experienced a horrible tragedy and that she should be treated with compassion and helped to find her way. Doc Hobbs had said something similar, that people could be taught to take care of themselves, they weren't an automatic waste if they weren't already capable or they failed to meet some sort of arbitrary expectation set by Alex.

She knew the Doc was right, at least in the old world he was right. Things were different now, though and they didn't have the luxury of taking care of people anymore. They needed to make the hard choices, choices that were literally life and death. Did Molly deserve to die just because she was crazy? Not necessarily. But she did deserve to die because she had eaten a corpse and was trying to kill living people to eat them. Alex was still certain that it was the only solution.

She thought back to the memory of her father giving her the broke down truck for her birthday. He was always so proud of his girl, and she strove to be everything he wanted. She was tough, smart, talented, and capable, all things he constantly told her she needed to be. He said such nice things when he gave her the truck and she had thought that it would be a project for them to work on together, until he said that she was in good hands with Jake, then she knew that he was once again pawning her off. Her father wanted her to be a certain type of person, but he was never willing to put the time in himself.

She could feel that anger coming back, pushing out the cold emptiness. She loved her parents, but they weren't very good parents. They left her alone all the time and expected others to parent for them. They expected great things from her, but taught her nothing themselves. They were always _telling_ her things, but Jake was the one that actually _taught _her things.

Jake was really the one that had taught her about making hard choices, the thing he'd said about everyone having a job to do had stuck with her all these years. It came up when they were hunting and when they were working on the ranch. When she thought about it, Jake was really the one that was responsible for her being who she was today.

Alex tossed some more wood on the fire, sending sparks flying into the sky. She was about to drink some water when she heard another groaning sound coming from the fence.

_Seriously? Another one? These fuckers are really starting to piss me off, _she thought. The walker was in the same place the first one had been. She was furious, at the walker, at her parents, at Molly, at the world. She kicked the walker away from the fence, then climbed through the wires. The walker was just starting to get back to it's feet when she kicked him in the knee, again dropping him to the ground. She jumped on top of him and started stabbing, anywhere she could, feeling a brief moment of satisfaction every time she felt the blade plunging through the rotting flesh.

After a while, Alex felt the rage lessen in her chest and she finally realized what she was doing. She'd destroyed much of the walker's chest and head from the repeated blows. She stood up, wiping as much gore off on the walker's pants as she could before returning to her fire.

_There must be a group of them over on the Graham's place,_ she thought, as she lit another cigarette. These fuckers were really starting to piss her off.

Alex no longer felt cold and empty inside. She was now filled with anger and rage and hate for these things that had come along and ruined the world. HER world. They took her parents, they took her friends and they made her into a killer. She couldn't do anything to bring her people back, but she could protect what little she had left. She would honor the deaths of her loved ones by taking out as many of these fuckers as possible.

Alex took her knife from the sheath and held it over the fire, burning away any remaining walker guts that she'd missed. When the blade was hot, she rolled up the sleeve of her shirt to expose her shoulder and pushed the blade into her skin, dragging it down slightly to make a hash mark in her shoulder. She repeated this action four more times, one mark for each of the hard choices she'd had to make in this new, horrible world. Mrs. Johnson. Manny. Molly. Mom. The last one was for herself. The old Alex was gone and the new Alex was done fucking around. She wasn't going to ignore her instincts again, and she sure as hell wasn't going to waste anymore time feeling sorry for herself or missing people that were actually gone long before they died.

Alex pulled her hair out of the messy ponytail Jake had put it in and ran her fingers through it trying to tame it before putting it back up in a ponytail. She gripped her knife in one hand and her ponytail in the other, then cut through the hair, tossing her ponytail into the fire. She felt for stragglers, cutting them off and tossing the strands into the fire as well. She stared as the long hair that she'd had her entire life flashed and faded into the embers of the fire, just like the rest of her life.

Alex's mom had once told her that Jake would be gone someday and she'd have to make the hard choices by herself. Jake had always told her that everyone had a job to do. Apparently it was her job to make the hard decisions.

Alex was done wishing she had a different job.

Jake arrived after a while, joining her at the fire and offering her an apple and a granola bar. He noticed her hair but didn't say anything, just sat there eating and staring into the fire like she was. When they were finished, she offered Jake a cigarette and they sat there and smoked in silence for a while.

"Ran inta some trouble out at tha gate," Jake gruffly stated. "Found four guys tryin' ta get in tha' gate, had ta take care of em when I figured out wha' they wanted. Didn't see any way they were jus' gonna leave. They had this," Jake said as he pulled the map out of his pack and handed it to Alex. He explained to her that he knew one of them from the permit office and that that was probably how he'd gotten all of this information.

"Probably means we'll have more to deal with in the near future. I think we need to bring the survivors from town in soon. I killed two walkers over there on the Graham's side of the fence, but you accounted for all three Graham's when you came through checking the fence. I didn't recognize the one that I didn't decimate, so where did they come from? Should we be worried that there are more? We should go check it out, make sure there isn't a threat to the fence. We can probably handle it just the two of us, but we're gonna need more help to secure this place long term," Alex added.

They had previously said that they needed to discuss taking the survivors in, but it was clear to both of them that they needed more people to have the best chance at survival.

Jake nodded to her in agreement. "So we'll go talk ta tha boys when we go in ta get yer wounds checked tomorrow," he asked her.

"Yep. Figure we can fit 'em all inside between the guest house and the bunkhouse. We'll make sure that the main house only has people we fully trust since that's where all the guns are. We got time to get things all worked out before winter really gets going. Figured we could pull some trailers over here from other properties for extra room if needed," Alex said.

"Damn, girl, when'd ya have time ta think 'bout all this," he laughed, tossing his cigarette butt in the fire.

"Just popped into my head a few minutes ago, actually. Thought I'd need more time to adjust to the idea, but they can come here, we need them, they need us. We make it clear from the start that what you and I say goes, there can't be any debate on that. If it looks like someone is gonna have a problem with that, I'll take care of it. It's our way or the highway. No exceptions."

"No exceptions," he agreed, cautiously.


	12. Chapter 12 - Day Nine, Part One

**Jake's POV**

The next morning they were both awake as soon as the sun came up over the horizon. Alex had slept in her sleeping bag right next to Jake, curled up against his side, and had actually slept well, not tossing and turning in her sleep at all. Jake, however, had stayed up for hours, running her words over and over in his head, concerned about what they meant.

"_What you and I say goes, there can't be any debate on that. If it looks like someone is gonna have a problem with that, I'll take care of it. It's our way or the highway. No exceptions." _

She'd sounded as if she were reciting a creed. Her words lacked emotion. Alex made it clear that _she_ would handle anyone that disagreed with them about what to do on their property. What did that mean she would take care of it? Take care of it how? He had been concerned when he returned to the grave and seen all the blood on her arms and clothes and her hair chopped off. He didn't make a big deal out of it though because she was grieving and everyone did that in their own way. Alex tended to get cold and mechanical when she had to deal with death, so this reaction wasn't all that surprising, but it still concerned him.

"_No exceptions."_ Her voice echoed through his mind, the icy certainty that she'd spoken with was menacing. Not to Jake directly, but certainly to anyone that might disagree with her. He hoped that she would relax in the coming days, maybe once Tim and Billy were around full time she would be more trusting, after she saw that people could be trusted. He hoped that she wouldn't cut herself off from everyone before she got a chance to see how they fit in at the Lazy H. They really did need more people.

He tried to put his concern for Alex aside and focus on the task at hand - they needed to pack up, eat something and head to town to meet up with the Jenkins boys and get Alex checked out by the doc. He rolled up his sleeping bag as Alex went behind the bushes to relieve herself. They hadn't said anything since waking; he wasn't sure what to say, so he just kept his mouth shut. After her day yesterday, he was afraid of saying something that would set her off and make her stop talking again. He couldn't stand it when she wouldn't talk. It always made him feel so helpless, whatever was wrong with her was on the inside and he couldn't do shit about it other than to just be there for her.

"So, what do you think, should we take two trucks in case we need to bring anything back with us today," Alex asked as she stepped out from the bushes buttoning her jeans. Jake could have sworn that she actually looked happy. Like a totally different person than the day before. Maybe this was a good thing. Jake had his doubts though.

"Guess so. Hadn't really thought 'bout it none. Figured they had trucks an' stuff there, but if we end up havin' ta haul some trailers back it might not be a bad idea. You sure yer up to drivin',"he asked cautiously. He wanted to ask her how her head felt but he didn't want her to feel like he was treating her like a little kid. He'd heard her loud and clear the previous day in the bar with that asshole, Aaron.

"I'm fine to drive, really. Not seeing double, no headache, nothing to worry about," Alex replied.

Jake finished packing up and tossing things in the truck while Alex made sure the fire was totally out. He went over to the fence just to double check it before they left. When he saw the obliterated walker body just beyond the fence he better understood where all the blood on her clothes had come from. She didn't have a struggle with either of them, she had willfully destroyed the corpse, leaving barely more than a pair of shoes and a pile of bone and guts.

Yeah, she was fine alright.

Jake climbed through the fence to see if he could pick up a trail without wandering out of eyesight of Alex. There were plenty of tracks around and they all seemed to head directly towards the Graham's place. They would definitely have to go over there and take a look around. Too many more of those things pushing up against the fence and it would start to weaken or even break. Priority number one when he and the boys came up with a plan would be to clear out the neighboring properties of the dead. They had to keep the fences up at all costs.

**Alex's POV**

Alex spread the ashes of the fire out and spread the dirt over it, making sure there was no way a breeze could reignite any remaining embers. She made quick work of the job and looked up to see that Jake had wandered over the fence beyond the corpses she'd left there. He was probably looking for tracks. She'd already planned on going to check the Graham's place out before they went into town today.

"Find anything interesting," she called to him as she approached the fence.

"Nah. Jus' looks like all tha tracks head straight ta tha Graham's place. Thought me an' tha boys should go check it out this afternoon while yer gettin' looked at by tha doc," he replied, meeting her at the fence. His voice sounded cautious; like he was afraid she was going to break at the slightest sound. Alex needed to clear that misconception up.

"I'm fine, ya know," she started, pulling the fence wires apart so Jake could climb back through. "I needed some time with it, but I'm okay now. I know what I have to do to make sure we survive, and that's the most important thing. I'm not a kid anymore... I gotta change… we all gotta change to make it now."

Jake stood from climbing through the fence and looked at her like he'd never seen her before, his eyes searching her face for something. He apparently didn't find it when he abruptly looked away, sighing and turning to look back at the corpse she'd totally decimated.

"That pile uh guts there says yer not okay, Al. Or is that tha change yer talkin' 'bout," he rushed out. She could tell Jake was frustrated with her, though she wasn't sure why.

"That was just me venting a little steam. I got pissed cuz I couldn't just sit and stare at the fire in peace. I won't lie, it felt pretty fucking good, and I feel much better today. Maybe you should try it," she joked. Judging by the look on Jake's face, he was not amused.

"I'm just kidding," she offered. "I know it's not funny, but seriously, we have to laugh about this, it's just too fucking absurd. I mean, zombies? Really? I know they used to be people we knew, but now, now they just aren't anything. Nothing but a threat to the things that are important to me. I'm not going to lose sight of that. And you shouldn't either. Especially after those men last night. It's not just the dead we need to plan for. There are going to be other survivors that are going to come try to take this from us. We have to be willing to do whatever it takes to protect us. This," she finished, gesturing around with her arm to indicate the ranch.

"Yeah, yer right, I jus' don' like ya bein' so flip 'bout killin'. It's s'posed to be hard ta pull tha trigger," Jake said as he double checked the covered ashes of the fire.

"It ain't hard when I look at it like it is: us or them? It was easy to kill Molly because I knew it was either her or me. I refuse to see that as a bad thing. I survived to fight another day. Because that's all we've got now, fighting for another day." Alex rubbed her shorn hair, looking at Jake, trying to figure out what he was going to say next. It was weird not knowing what he was thinking.

"Come on, let's get somethin' ta eat so we can get inta town," Jake said, surprising her with his obvious change of subject.

"Alright. But I want to stop at the Graham's on our way in. Shouldn't take too long, then it'll be clear and we won't have to worry so much about this spot of the fence, at least," Alex said as she went to get in the driver's seat of the truck. "Plus, then you and the boys will be free to deal with all the other shit that's gonna go into bringing all the survivors back here."

"We don't know how many walkers are over there, Al. Why run the risk of just the two of us when we can easily go back with four or five people instead?" Alex could tell that he was keeping something from her. He wouldn't make eye contact with her and he kept looking out over the ranch like he was expecting to see something out there. He was starting to make her nervous.

"Why don't you tell me what's really on your mind, Dixon. You took down, what, thirteen of them on your own the other day? Why the sudden lack of confidence in our abilities? What's up with you," she asked him. They had gotten in the truck, but she wasn't driving until she got some sort of answer from him.

"Well, we ain't exactly at full strength, like we were then. Yer hurt, mentally an' physically, an' who knows how many will be waiting for us? I don't wan' ta take tha risk with ya injured. I was so scared yesterday when ya stopped talkin'. Then I find ya with yer hair all chopped off, a bunch uh cuts in yer arm that ya did ta yerself an' a body tha' ya totally tore up jus' cuz yer mad. Yer tellin' me that yer okay, but that's not what tha signs say, Al. I'm worried 'bout'cha." Jake lit a cigarette, taking a long drag as he sat there, staring out the window.

Alex wanted to be angry, she didn't like that Jake was doubting her abilities. But he wasn't wrong, all of those things _had _happened. She wasn't sure how to convince him that it was okay and that she was ready to move forward. She exhaled loudly, then lit a smoke of her own before replying.

"You're right, I did do all of those things. I did cut myself. Wanna know why? Because I needed to remember. Every single decision that I have to make to keep us safe, I want to remember it forever to remind me of who I am, who _we_ are and why we are fighting. Yes, I chopped off my hair. Why? Because I needed to change. I've had long hair my entire life. But that life is over now, and no matter how much I wish it wasn't, all the things that I have done or will have to do to get by now won't allow me to go back to being that same person. That innocence is gone forever… I'm a killer, and that won't ever change. And as far as the pile of walker guts goes, yes, I WAS angry, for all the reasons I just listed, not to mention the fact that my mom just died and I was covered in her guts. Yeah, that pissed me off. And beating that thing to a bloody pulp made me feel better. I won't apologize for that."

Alex took a long drag off her cigarette and looked at Jake, waiting for his response. When it didn't seem like he was going to say anything, Alex started the truck and began heading back to the house. The ride down the mountain passed in silence.

"'M sorry, Alex," Jake said, as they neared the barn. "Everythin' ya said makes sense, an' I understand ya better now. Yer jus' all I got left, an' I can't help but worry 'bout'cha. Don' know what I'd do if somethin' happened to ya," he finished as they pulled up to the barn.

As they both got out to unload the truck, Alex paused next to Jake, stopping him with her hand on his forearm. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you either. That's why we have to change. We _have_ to be able to protect one another. Hesitation, even just a split second hesitation, could mean the end, and I won't let that happen."

Alex didn't wait for Jake's response. She grabbed the shovels and pick axe and headed for the tool room, making two more trips while Jake dealt with the wheelbarrow. Then they drove to the house in silence.

Once at the house, it didn't take long for them to get something to eat and pack a few things to take into town with them. Alex insisted that they clear the Graham's place before they went into town, so she made sure to get plenty of ammo, double checking their guns and making sure they were ready for anything.

Alex got out her throwing knives, checking each blade for defects from their last use. One of the many things that she'd learned from Jake was the art of throwing knives. He'd taught her when she was about twelve, sometime after she'd had to kill her pet pig. It started out as something fun to do; Alex had been very preoccupied with knives since she slit Mr. Wiggles' throat and Jake offered to teach her more about them. Up to that point she'd always focused on guns, a passion she shared with her father.

But something inside her changed when she felt the knife cut through the pigs' skin like butter, the metallic smell of blood filling her nostrils and lighting a fire in Alex's gut. Alex would never admit it to anyone, but she had _enjoyed_ the power she felt when she slit Mr. Wiggles throat. Alex wanted to know everything there was to know about knives, and Jake was more than happy to teach her. He had been quite impressed with what he called her "natural skills" with the knife and it didn't take Alex long to surpass Jake's own throwing abilities. She'd entered a few knife throwing contests over the years when the rodeo came to town, winning every time. Alex hadn't entered the competition last year because it was no longer a challenge - no one else in the county even came close to her accuracy - and she had gotten bored with it.

Alex strapped the holster for the throwing knives to her right leg, adjusting her hunting knife so it wasn't in the way. She clipped a full ammo pouch to the left side of her belt, then added her boot knife to her left boot. Alex moved around a little to make sure that everything fit comfortably and was secure.

"Looks like yer ready, Rambo. Got anythin' left fer me," Jake teased as he entered the gun room.

"Been awhile since I used 'em, but I figured if I can use them instead of the gun and save on ammo that would be for the best. Still got your old set in here if you want to strap 'em on," she offered. "I've got the boot knife on the left, plus my hunting knife and the 1911 in my waistband. Here," she said as she tossed him another holstered knife.

Jake caught it and fitted it on his belt, adjusting the knife he already had there.

"Think I'll pass on the throwing knives, this'll work jus' fine. Can ya think of anythin' else we might need," Jake asked as he clipped a full ammo pouch to his belt.

"Don't think so. Anything we take with us will just take up room if we need to bring stuff back with us. Not like we're in a hurry to get it all done today. Hell, we don't even know if they're gonna want to move out here. Might as well just stick to the basics, make a second trip if needed," Alex replied.

They finished getting fitted out, then packed everything into Alex's truck and drove to the bunkhouse for Jake's truck. Alex led the way off the property and out to the main road. Things hadn't changed much in the twenty-four hours since they'd last driven the road. There were still plenty of animals wandering around grazing, mainly horses, cows and goats. There were also about a dozen walkers pushing against the fences along the road. Alex stopped, taking out the ones on the right side of the road while Jake handled the ones on the left.

It only took a few more minutes on the main road to reach the correct driveway. The Graham's had once run a small organic milk farm, but nowadays they only kept what they could use and barter to a few neighbors - a couple milk cows, goats, chickens and pigs.

It had been years since the place had required the help of hired hands, so it was a little surprising to Alex to see so many walkers wandering around the place - there were dozens of them. The majority of them were fenced in the pasture behind the barn that led up the mountain. Alex looked through the scope of her AR to see if she could locate the downed part of the pasture fence that was obviously letting the walkers through to the fence shared with the Lazy H. Alex found the gap, it looked like two fence posts had been brought down, leaving a sizable gap in the fence.

Jake pulled around so his truck was facing back towards the road. Alex pulled hers around so she could use the roof of the cab to rest her rifle on while she took the long shots to get the walkers out in the pasture.

"We should clear tha buildings first, the fences'll hold 'em a little longer," Jake said as he walked up to Alex's truck.

"Sounds good," Alex replied, falling in behind him as Jake headed for the house.

They followed the same procedure they had at the sheriff's office - Jake went to the right, Alex went to the left and they met around the back of the house. When neither of them saw anything of concern, Alex knocked on the back door and waited, listening for the distinct sounds of the walkers. Alex pounded again, then checked the handle and found the door unlocked. She pushed it open, Jake stormed inside with Alex on his tail. They swept room to room, finding no bodies, dead or otherwise.

"Looks like they were having a party," Alex said, nodding to the 'Congratulations' banner hanging over the dining room table covered in now rotting appetizers. Alex looked at the cake on the table with 'Congratulations Baptismal Class of 2010' written on it. They had been getting ready to celebrate someone's baptism. The irony was not lost on Alex. "May explain why there's so many walkers out there, but how'd they get here? I didn't see any cars parked anywhere, did you?"

"Nah. Come on. Let's go check tha barn," Jake said.

Alex followed Jake to the old barn. The big double doors to the barn were closed and latched securely. Jake looked around at the tracks while Alex pounded on the doors. She was instantly rewarded with the groaning and snarling of the undead.

Jake caught Alex's eye and motioned to the side of the barn. There was a ladder that led up to the hay loft, giving them access without using the door. Alex followed Jake up the ladder, almost bumping into him when he came to an abrupt stop on the last rung. She waited for what seemed like forever before Jake started climbing again.

By the time Alex took the last step off the ladder, Jake had started firing down into the open area of the barn below them. Alex immediately took position next to him and began firing, quickly taking down five to Jake's seven. Alex moved around the loft to get a better view, making sure they didn't miss any before they climbed down the interior ladder.

When she was satisfied, Alex signaled to Jake and he began climbing down to the barn floor littered with bodies. Alex stayed where she had a good line of sight on his blind spot while he descended, then made her way down to join him.

They looked through the bodies, checking to see if there was anyone they knew. It was mostly older men and women, dressed in their Sunday best. Alex saw some familiar faces, but again, no one she was close to. She climbed back up the ladder to check around the back of the building. Sure enough, there was a big bus parked there with one walker in it - the bus driver judging by his clothes.

Alex went to the door of the bus and cracked it open, luring the walker to the crack before stabbing him in the head. She turned around and almost walked into Jake.

"So how do ya wanna work this," he asked her as they walked back to the front of the barn. Alex climbed into the back of her truck with Jake following behind. Alex looked through the scope again, this time noticing that some of the walkers in the field seemed to be moving together. She looked for a pair that had a clear line of sight to their legs.

"Are you seeing this," she asked Jake. "It looks like their legs are tied together, like a three-legged race. This'll be easier than shooting fish in a barrel. No need to waste ammo, let's just go out there and use the knives." She lowered her AR and began to climb out of the truck.

"There's over a dozen out there, you sure about this," Jake asked as he followed her to the fence.

Alex didn't answer him; she just nodded and approached the fence, stabbing the walkers that had gathered there. When they dropped, Alex climbed into the pasture.

"Come on, let's get this over with. You take the left, I'll take the right. We move towards the far side of the enclosure, where there are fewer of them. If we get into trouble, we head for the closest fence. No guns unless we get overwhelmed," Alex stated.

They moved through the field, Alex used her hunting knife predominantly, but had several opportunities to use her throwing knives as well. She was pleased to discover that her aim was not rusty at all, cleanly sinking three knives into eyes from a distance of more than twenty feet. Jake was at her side the whole time, together they stabbed, dodged, kicked, grabbed and thrust their way through the hobbled walkers. After the last body dropped, Jake and Alex took the opportunity to catch their breath, looking around the area to see what, if any, clues might be gained, as well as collect Alex's knives.

"Looks like they're all out here ta play games, got some eggs over there an' a little course marked out with stakes. Maybe an egg toss or egg race? Don't explain why there was a group of 'em in tha barn though," Jake said.

"Don't matter much, really. We got 'em all cleared out, that's what's important," she said. "I wonder if they had time to realize that their baptism was a waste of water," Alex said cynically. She'd never been raised to believe in god, so the idea that dunking your head in some water and living on good intentions was gonna save you from hell was ludicrous to her. As far as she could tell, this was hell. Hell on earth.

"Let's get the fuck outta here," she called to Jake. They made their way back to the trucks and Alex followed Jake into town.

When they pulled up to the gates of the storage compound they were once again greeted by Aaron's brother, Zach. He led them into the office where Tim and Billy greeted them enthusiastically.

"How've things been in town," Jake asked after shaking hands with the boys.

"Good, all thangs considered," Billy replied. "Ain't seen no one tryin' to get past the barricades, an' the dead ones we lured out across the highway seem to have moved on. Me an' Tim went out there yesterday to check things out, an' they're all gone."

"Which is good news fer us, bad news fer someone else," Tim chimed in. "Also, since it was clear out there we took the time ta put down the rest of the dead in the cars. I'm really sorry we didn't do it before, Alex."

"Thanks, Tim. I get it though. I probably would have done the same thing if I had been here. So, where's the doc," Alex asked. "I wanna get this over with."

"He's around here somewhere. Zach'll find him," Billy replied, nodding at Zach, who promptly turned and ran out the door. "What happened to yer hair? You lose a bet with Jake," he teased.

"It was just time for a change, Billy, ya know? Out with the old, in with the new and shit," she said through a small grin. "So, what's on the agenda for today boys?"

"Haven't decided yet. We figured ya'll'd be in early, so we thought we'd wait to plan 'til then, which I guess is now," Tim joked.

At that moment, Doc was ushered in to the room by Zach, who promptly turned and left them to it. Doc brought his bag in and set it on the table next to Alex, who began to remove her shirt so he could take a look at her back. Alex figured maybe they should wait to plan until after Doc was finished checking her out.

"Jake, why don't you tell the boys about the men you came across last night while Doc looks me over," she quickly interjected before anyone could say anything else.

Jake understood what she was doing and started telling them the tale of the previous night. He had just about gotten to the part about the map when Doc interrupted.

"Sorry to stop you mid sentence son but I thought you'd want to know that everything looks like it should. Cheek's a little red, but that's to be expected. It's irritated from all the movement, so try to talk less," he said jokingly, looking at Alex. He had no idea that she had barely said a word all day yesterday.

"Just keep doin' what you've been doin' and it'll be fine," he continued. "How's the salve feeling? Still burning," he asked Alex.

"Nah, I don't even feel it anymore," she told him. It was true; Alex hadn't felt the pain in her back or neck at all since yesterday afternoon. Her cheek still pinched sometimes, but it mostly just faded into the background.

"Well that's good. Just make sure you keep it clean. If you can, leave the neck wound uncovered for a while every day. It will help it heal faster. The others you can leave uncovered unless they're gonna rub on something. And I can't recommend the salve enough. Use it liberally." Placing the last piece of tape on the gauze covering the bite wound Doc said, "Unless it gets infected, you shouldn't need to see me until the stitches are ready to come out in about ten days."

He helped Alex get her arm back into her shirt, then returned items from the table to his bag and left the room.

"So, what's the rest of the story," Tim asked.

Jake told them about the map, pulling it from his pocket for their inspection.

"Looks like the man did his homework," Billy said, after emitting a low whistle. "I think we can put his work ta good use, though. Hell, I think we can add to it, use it to plan out supply runs, things like that. I'm damn happy that ya got the drop on these guys, Jake. Don't think we want those types settlin' in our backyard."

"Which brings us to our next topic of conversation nicely," Alex said, smiling at the boys. "We got a proposition for ya."

Billy and Tim's eyes found Alex's, their faces breaking out in the same grin. "We were hopin' ya'll would say somethin' like that," Tim said.

Jake took over from here, "You boys already know tha setup we got out at tha Lazy H - water, solar power, gardens, animals fer eatin', fences, tha whole nine. We're far enough out there tha' we don't gotta worry 'bout too many pressin' up against tha fences an' we ain't on tha radar of someone jus' rollin' through town. We got plenty uh space fer tha people that're already here, an' food 'nough fer everyone, provided ya'll help out. Al an' I think we can make a real go of it, have a life out there, but we need more people ta keep tha place secure an' help out with tha work. We're willin' ta bring people in, but we got some concerns an' we wanted ta talk to ya'll first before bringin' it ta tha larger group." Jake looked from Billy to Tim and back again.

"What kinda concerns," Billy asked. "I think we would agree ta jus' about anythin' at this point. We can't make it here for long."

Jake looked at Alex, and after a moment she took the lead.

"Well, this is my home, and it's been Jake's home for the last decade. We don't wanna have any issues with anyone making rogue decisions, trying to hunt or harvesting, anything that could put the group in jeopardy. We would like to have a council, the four of us and one other person, if you have one in mind. It's in everyone's best interest that we plan hunts out, keep an accurate inventory. Seriously, in order for this to work we really need to be a well oiled machine and all be on the same page. We have to be able to trust each other, which I am going to try really hard to do, in spite of what happened with Molly."

"Shouldn't be a problem, gettin' people to agree with those terms," Billy said. "We've had a couple problems, one man that we found don't treat his daughter too well, and a couple of drunk arguments, some disagreements over ownership of scavenged stuff. Nothin' major, so far."

"What do you guys think? Should we talk to them now," Alex asked.

"We should probably come up with answers to some basic questions before we get in front of everyone," Billy suggested. "Like where is everyone going to sleep?"

Alex ran over her thoughts with them, explaining how many could be accommodated in each residence on the ranch as well as her suggestion to tow trailers from other ranches to provide individual space instead of dorm style living quarters. She suggested that they come up with lists of supplies that they would need to house everyone comfortable through the winter so they could send out teams to start gathering items from surrounding ranches.

"It's almost November, guys. We've got to be organized and move fast to be ready by the time it really gets cold. Hopefully we won't have any snow this year. So, what do you think," Alex asked.

"I think you've been planning this for years, kid," Billy teased again. "I think we got a serious chance to get through this if you keep comin' up with good ideas."


	13. Chapter 13 - Day Nine, Part Two

**Day Nine, Part Two**

The rest of the day was a flurry of activity. After explaining to Jake, Tim and Billy the ideas that she'd come up with about housing, supplies and everything else she thought it would take to make everyone comfortable through the winter, Alex, Jake and the Jenkins boys got the whole group together and presented the idea to everyone. There was no dissent. Not a single person had a problem with any of the ideas that they presented and everyone seemed willing, if not enthusiastic, about the work that would be required of them.

They had decided that they would present the plan as if it had been a group idea, and not mainly Alex's. Billy and Tim didn't think that anyone would disagree simply because it was the plan of a seventeen year old girl, since it was a pretty damn good, well thought out plan, but they wanted to play it safe. With things being what they were, you never knew what would set someone off or cause a disagreement. Besides, when things worked out well there would be plenty of time to give Alex the praise she deserved.

By the time they finished meeting with the whole group and answering their questions it was lunchtime. Jake and Alex added their food supplies to the canned supplies of the group and shared their first meal with them. Alex noticed she was getting a few looks from the group but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary, especially considering the gash across her face and the disheveled haircut she was sporting. Alex made a mental note to clean up her hair when she had a chance.

Aaron had stuck by her side after the meeting, asking her if she was okay or needed his help with anything. She was about to snidely remark that she was perfectly capable of feeding herself, when Jake came up, offering her a plate of food. He nodded in recognition to Aaron, then turned and went and sat with Billy and Tim to eat.

Alex was surprised, she had expected Jake to be overly attentive and worried about her. She hadn't expected him to just leave her alone like that.

"Come on," Aaron said, pulling at her arm. "Let's go sit over here," he said, indicating an unoccupied picnic table.

Alex didn't like that he was touching her and telling her what to do. She yanked her arm abruptly from his grasp and stopped in her tracks. "No thanks, I'm gonna sit with the boys. We still got a lot of planning to do," she said, turning on her heel and leaving him staring after her. She stopped and turned to face him once she had gone a few feet, "And if you ever touch me again without my permission you might find yourself missing a hand." Aaron stood there dumbly staring after her.

After lunch, the boys split up, dividing people into teams to start making runs to properties to tow trailers out to the Lazy H. They had eight trucks, not including Jake and Alex's, plus there were plenty more sitting around on abandoned ranches. They figured they needed at least ten trailers to accommodate everyone comfortably. They had decided that for now they would line them up near the barn; it was the flattest, widest piece of land near electricity that they had right now, and they could easily rearrange things once they got everyone in and settled and figured out what they really wanted to do long term. Jake would pick up a trailer and head back to the Lazy H to watch the gate and direct everyone to the correct location for trailer drop off. Once the trailers were dropped, those people headed back to town with the trucks to load up and start bringing stuff and people back to the ranch the following day.

Alex was going to head back to the Graham's to see if the bus was running and then load up as many blankets, clothes and other household supplies as she could find. The bus would come in handy if they had to move a large group of people at once, plus it could be used as a barricade if they needed to block the gates in the future. Aaron had tried to get assigned to her when they were handing out jobs, but Alex chose to take Zach instead. He was quieter and wasn't obsessed with her, which was the clincher. She just wanted to get in, get out and get home.

As it turned out, Zach was perfect for the job. He was quiet and observant, willing to learn and eager to help. When they left the storage compound, Alex explained to him again that they had already cleared out the walkers, so there shouldn't be any to deal with, but reminded him not to let his guard down. She went over the main items that they would be looking for in the house. Alex parked the truck in front of the house so that they could load it with stuff first, then put the overflow or really large items on the bus.

At the bus, Alex pulled the driver's body out and over near the barn while Zach watched with a slightly horrified look on his face. Alex was amused.

"What are you staring at? Don't tell me you haven't seen one up close yet," she asked after she let the body fall to the ground unceremoniously.

"No, I've seen plenty of them. It's just that you didn't hesitate about touching it, you looked at it like it was normal," he said. Alex wasn't certain, but she thought she heard admiration in his voice.

"Well, isn't it? Normal, I mean. Isn't this what normal is now," she asked him. "Besides, hesitation will get you killed. Don't forget that. If you hesitate to make a kill, it could end up killing you, or worse, those that you are supposed to be protecting, got it? Don't hesitate."

"No hesitation, got it," he repeated.

The bus started right up and Alex was pleased that it had an almost full tank of gas. She pulled the bus up next to the truck so they could get started with the loading.

They made quick work of clearing the house of anything useful. They took blankets, mattresses, pillows, bed linens, tables, chairs, extension cords, anything and everything got loaded up. Zach found some duffel bags in a closet and proceeded to fill them with all the non-perishables he could find in the kitchen and pantry, plus things like paper plates, plastic ware and napkins.

Alex went through the Graham's closets and under their beds looking for weapons and ammunition. She found a couple of hunting rifles and a shotgun, with a good amount of ammo for each gun. She grabbed all of the practical clothing she could find from the closets and the dressers, including socks and underwear, then went to the son's room and did the same. Once they had filled every duffel and garbage bag they could find, Alex started laying out blankets so they could use them as sacks to carry items to the bus.

When the house was empty, Zach started for the barn to gather tools.

"There's a dozen dead ones in there," Alex warned him as he went to lift the latch off the doors. "Watch your step."

"Will do," he replied. Zach stepped carefully over the bodies heading for the tool room. He grabbed everything he could carry - shovels, hoes, axes, everything was coming with them. Alex found several rolls of barbed wire and chicken wire, as well as a post hole digger. Those they would have to make a second trip for - there wasn't enough room for the large wheels of wire in the truck or the bus.

When they couldn't possibly load anything else in the vehicles, Alex tossed her keys to Zach and got in the bus. Even though Zach was barely sixteen, he had enough experience driving an automatic that Alex felt she could trust him. It was only a couple miles and they wouldn't be driving that fast anyway. Alex led the way in the bus and Zach followed her back to the ranch.

Jake met them at the gate and Alex pulled the bus up to the barn, Zach backed her truck up next to the bus. They had already brought five trailers in and lined them up close enough to the barn that they would be able to run extension cords for power. They would have to rig something up to handle the load long term, but for now they could get by.

They had decided that morning that only a few people would relocate to the ranch that day to help get things organized and ready for the big move which would take them at least one whole day. People had already come in and dropped trailers off and any supplies that they found and returned to the storage facility to begin packing for the move the following day. Those that were supposed to be helping organize were milling around uncertainly, waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

"Hey Zach," Jake called, running over from the gate. "You mind watchin' tha gate while Alex an' I get people organized," he asked.

"No problemo," Zach replied as he ran out to the gate. Another truck and trailer was just pulling up as he arrived.

"Looks like Billy's back," Jake said to Alex. "That's good. He can help us herd the cats," he joked.

"Seriously. Maybe I didn't know what we were getting into after all," she replied. "They're makin' me nervous with all their milling around."

After directing Billy and getting the trailer backed in and lined up with the rest of them, Jake, Billy and Alex began directing people to jobs. They placed food items in the back of Jake's truck to be relocated to the main house, and separated other items into categories - bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and other, making piles on tarps that they laid out. When a tarp was full, it was moved to another spot where another group sorted the items further. Tools went in the tool room; linens were grouped into sets so they could be handed out easily. Clothes were sorted into men, women and children's piles and left to be sorted further at another time.

Billy put Ms. Fitz, the school librarian, in charge of creating an inventory of the items that they'd brought in so far. Ms. Fitz, in turn, chose a couple of older ladies to help her organize and tally items. Alex was impressed - within a few hours, the ladies had everything organized and accounted for. They moved all the housing supplies to a mostly empty storage room in the barn.

By the time everything was sorted and put away, it was almost five and definitely past time to start thinking about dinner. Alex told Jake she was going to head to the main house to start making food for everyone.

"Looks like tha ladies're finished with tha sorting, why don' you take 'em with ya ta help out? Billy an' I'll finish up with thangs down here then get everyone up ta tha house. I was thinkin' we should prolly do a quick run ta check tha fences," Jake said. He was nervous now that there were other people here they were responsible for.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. We don't want any surprises. Hey, I was thinkin' about those men's bodies out by the gate. We're gonna have to do something with them. We can't just leave them there to rot. Maybe we should start a burn pile after dinner," Alex suggested.

"Yeah, prolly a good idea. I'll talk ta Billy about it an' have him get some folks ta start gathering wood. I'm jus' gonna run out on tha bike again 'fore it gets dark. Was gonna take Billy with me, but we can do show an' tell tomorrow," Jake said as he started towards the barn to get the dirt bike ready.

"Alright. We got stuff for spaghetti and meat sauce, figured that be easiest for tonight. There's a lot to be planned out - meals, teams for jobs, living assignments - there's so many things to think of!" Alex exclaimed. "See ya when ya get back," she said as she went to gather the women to help her cook.

Jake explained what the plan was to Billy who then picked out a couple men, John and Brian, to help gather brush for the fire later. Altogether, there were nine transplants from the storage compound joining them that night. Billy had a young couple, Amy and Seth, go through the trailers and assess them, figure out what supplies were already in place, as far as bedding and linens were concerned, then make a list as to what needed to go where. They duct taped numbers on the outside of each trailer for easy identification and listed how many people could be comfortably accommodated in each.

"Hey kid," Jake called to Zach after waving him over from gate duty, "ya know how to ride a dirt bike?"

"Hell yeah!" Zach replied excitedly. "Used to race 'em. Why? Need me to run somewhere," he asked hesitantly.

"Nah, jus' gotta ride aroun' tha' fence line an' make sure there ain't any walkers pushin' against it. Thought maybe ya could be my backup since Billy's got his hands full," Jake said, nodding to the other bike. Zach didn't say anything, just walked over to the second bike and pushed it out of the barn next to Jake's. "Ya know how ta use a knife, right," Jake asked hopefully.

"I can stick one in the eye of a dead one against a fence, if that's what you mean," Zach joked. "Not gonna lie, I don't have any real fighting skills, but if they're just standing there, no problemo."

"That's good enough," Jake said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex was glad that Jake had suggested the librarian and two older ladies help her with dinner. They turned out to be great company. Ms. Fitz, whose first name was Kathy, was in her early thirties and reminded Alex of the cool aunt she'd read about in a book one time. She was hip and funny and very nerdy, making jokes about how these zombies weren't anything like the sci-fi movies portrayed them.

The two older women, Betty and Norma, were wonderful, loving grandmother-types. Alex wasn't sure how they had avoided being eaten since neither was able to move very fast, but she was glad they were here now. The two old women moved about the kitchen like they'd been cooking in it for years and it didn't take long before the spaghetti feed was ready. Alex and Kathy made a huge salad while Betty and Norma handled the pasta and sauce.

Alex had added leaves to the dining room table so it would comfortably fit eleven people and Kathy helped her set the places. By the time they were finished, Billy arrived with everyone that had been finishing up down at the barn. Jake and Zach arrived a few minutes later.

"How'd it go out there," Alex asked, noticing the lack of blood on either Jake or Zach. They were just about to sit down to eat now that everyone had arrived.

"Good. Nothin' out there, fences're all clear," Jake replied, taking his seat next to Alex and across from Billy.

"You guys have a real nice set up here," Zach said. "I can't thank you guys enough for taking us all in. It's already better than the storage place, no offense Billy."

"None taken, kid," Billy replied. "He's right; it does beat the storage place." He took the bowl of spaghetti as it was passed to him and scooped a big helping on his plate. "I know it's only been a week, but I sure missed real food," he said, nodding to the ladies that had prepared the meal.

As everyone dug into their plates, talking ceased and the sound of silverware clinking on plates filled the room. Alex looked around the table, pleased with the group of people sitting there. She was glad that they had decided to bring people in. Alex hadn't realized it, but she was lonely. Most of her life she had intentionally shunned socializing, preferring books, animals and Jake to most everyone's company. But something had happened when being alone was no longer a choice. Now that she had decent people around, she felt a little less rough around the edges and that anger that she'd been feeding off of for days became less urgent, allowing her to actually enjoy herself for the first time since the world fell apart.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow? Any idea how to make this move as organized as possible? These ladies did such an awesome job of organizing supplies I'd hate to have all their hard work ruined when everyone and all their stuff shows up tomorrow," Alex said.

"Well, Amy an' Seth numbered all the trailers, inventoried them and figured out how many people can be comfortable in each one. We got a list of all the people at the storage compound, so I was thinkin' that we could go ahead an' assign people to trailers based on how they're already grouped. We can make adjustments later, but it'll give us a place to start," Billy replied.

"That sounds like a good idea. So the rest of the trailers are gonna be brought in tomorrow," Alex asked.

"Yeah. Tim is gonna coordinate that an' start bringin' 'em over first thing. Anyone that isn't towin' trailers will start tricklin' in here sometime after breakfast I'm guessin'," Billy said before he stabbed a lingering meatball on his plate.

"I think we need to start thinking about what kind of teams to break people into," Alex said after swallowing her last bite of spaghetti.

"Like jobs, ya mean," Jake asked.

"Yep. Like jobs. I think we need to have a perimeter team set up immediately. The dirt bikes are too loud to ride around for perimeter checks, so I think we need to round up the horses and use them when we can. Maybe have four or five people out there walking the fence at all times? We should have someone manning the gate tomorrow with all the traffic too," Alex said. She had so many thoughts in her mind about things they needed to do. She was having a hard time organizing everything in her head.

"I'm happy to watch the gate, or do perimeter checks," Zach offered through a mouthful of meatball.

Billy nodded.

"I think Zach should be on the perimeter team since he's already been out there. But most of the other people I'd suggest for that detail aren't here yet. How about Zach and Brian do a round in a truck first thing in the mornin', and once everyone gets here we can figure out a schedule," Billy suggested, looking first at Alex then at Jake.

"Works fer me," Jake drawled. "But they should take tha Willy's - better on tha' shit road."

"I'll run out at dawn and bring the horses in so they're ready when we need them," Alex said. "As far as other jobs for tomorrow, I think Kathy should head up the inventory/supply team, if she's up for the task," Alex said, looking at Kathy.

"Can I build my own team and conduct the inventory and sorting processes according to my parameters," Kathy asked with a furrowed brow.

"Lady, ya can do anythin' ya damn well please, long as we can find it when we need it," Jake said with a grin.

"As long as I can pick the people working with me," she said simply. "Some people just don't understand how to organize."

Billy asked who Kathy wanted on her team and she asked for two women that were back at the storage compound plus Betty and Norma. They planned out storage space for everything, what the best process would be for incoming items and how to distribute items to people settling in.

"What about a team to set up the trailers? Make sure they have a secure power supply from the barn and don't start a fire or anything," Alex joked.

"I can take care of that," John said, looking around the table. "I've got plenty of handyman experience. I'll start getting things hooked up first thing in the morning. All I need is someone to show me the fuse box and access to tools and extension cords."

"I'll getcha situated first thang," Jake offered. "Anythin' else, Al? We got sorters an' organizers, perimeter's covered, electric work covered fer tha trailers… maybe someone ta make sure everyone gets fed tomorrow? We got plenty that's easy to prep fer lotsa people."

"We can probably just pull someone once people start gettin' here," Alex said. "We can set up food in the bunkhouse since it's close. Maybe we can just send people over there to help themselves," she suggested.

"That'd prolly work. Whatcha thinkin', jus' sandwiches, salad and fruit," Jake asked her.

"Yeah, that's what we got the most of right now. We got plenty of ham left for sandwiches from the last pig we slaughtered, but I think we're gonna have to build a smokehouse to handle the amount of meat that we will need to get through the winter. The little one we have now won't hold enough for seventy people," Alex advised.

"Shit, you sure do come up with work for people to do," Billy joked. "It's a good thing we got you here or we might get bored from starin' at each other all day!"

"Don't worry, Billy. Ya'll stick with me an' I'll make sure you're fed, clothed, comfortable and worked to the bone," Alex chided. "Seriously, though, I also think that with the amount of traffic and noise out on the main road we should probably have someone staking out the road, making sure nothing heads this way. Hey, Jake, do we still have those old two-way radios?"

"I'm sure they're somewhere in tha bunkhouse," he replied. I'll take a look when we go down to burn those bodies."

The room got quiet at Jake's statement. Everyone knew about the men that had tried to take the ranch from Jake and Alex. Many in the group were still having a hard time wrapping their heads around the situation, that they were now existing in a world where the dead didn't stay dead and the living were out to take what they wanted. It was a lot to come to terms with, and some had more difficulty with it than others.

"I don't mean to be weird or bring up something inappropriate, but does anyone else think we should try to keep a record of who these people were and why they were killed? I mean, I know it seems like the end of the world, but what if it isn't? What if it all comes to an end in a month and things go back to normal? Or, more importantly, what if things never go back to the way they were? If humanity survives this disaster, who will tell the story of those that fought through it? What will our story be in the history books," Kathy asked cautiously.

The table was quiet under the weight of Kathy's questions. Kathy looked nervously around the table, afraid she had overstepped. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding when Alex spoke up finally.

"Those are good questions, Kathy. And my answer may be different than someone elses, but all I can say is what I've figured for myself. The scope of this thing tells me that there ain't no goin' back to the way things were before. Seems conservative to say this thing has an eighty five percent mortality rate, just on its own. Once we consider deaths from bites, accidents, injuries and death by other humans, I think it's safe to say more like ninety to ninety five percent death rate. Assuming there were about seven billion people in the world, that leaves what, 350 million people in the whole world? Maybe fifteen million of those in the US, based on the population here. Fewer than two million in California, though I assume that places with higher population densities will have a higher mortality rate. I think a safe bet would be between one and two million people in California. And we're seventy of them. As far as I'm concerned, surviving is all that matters. History isn't something I'm going to worry about; it isn't important until it's past, and I don't have time to look over my shoulder second guessing decisions I had to make to keep myself and those around me alive. I don't care what the history books say about me; if there are history books to be learned from again someday, every decision I made will have been worth it because SOMEONE survived to write the books and read them," Alex finished with a sigh.

The quiet once again enveloped the group, Alex knew that her speech was going to put a damper on the good mood they had been feeling moments ago, but it was an honest answer to an honest question.

"You sure know how to knock the wind outta someone's sails," Billy said. "Kathy, I think Alex is right, we got our hands full just tryin' to survive. But that don't mean that keepin' track of our experience isn't important, it just can't be our focus. If you would like to be our official record keeper, I think that would be okay with everyone."

Billy looked around the table. "Anyone have any objections," he asked the table at large.

Everyone shook their heads in the negative.

"Well, looks like it's unanimous," Billy said through a grin. "Kathy Fitz, you are the official historian of the Lazy H Survivor's Colony."

Everyone clapped as Kathy smiled to the group.

"Lazy H Survivor's Colony," Jake questioned.

"Well, you got a better name," Billy asked.

"Naw, jus' sounds funny is all," Jake replied.

After that, people began to clear the table, a different group volunteering to wash dishes than had prepared dinner. Jake, Alex and Billy continued to talk at the table.

"What do we want to do about sleeping arrangements for the night," Billy asked.

"There's enough room for everyone in the bunkhouse, if they don't mind twin bunk beds. There's two bathrooms and electricity, so everyone can have a hot shower. We just have to set the bunks up, won't take more than twenty minutes," Alex answered.

"We can take care of it when we go down ta light tha fire," Jake said.

"Billy, you're welcome to stay here in the main house with us if you want," Alex said. "We decided that you and Tim are welcome to stay here, but since we have the weapons room here we wanted to make sure only people we trusted were staying here."

"I think for tonight I'll go ahead and stay with them, make sure everything goes smoothly. But we may take ya up on that offer tomorrow," Billy replied. "Ya'll headin' out now?"

"Yeah, better get started now, think I might run out ta tha main road, jus' ta be sure no one's around," Jake said.

"You mind keepin' an eye on things around here? People can go ahead and shower if they want, there's two bathrooms downstairs and towels in the hall closet. We're gonna have to figure out somethin' for laundry, but for now just pile everything up in the laundry room," Alex said.

Billy nodded.

"Hey Zach! Wanna come help us get the bunkhouse ready for everyone to sleep in tonight? We can use another pair of hands," Alex called to Zach across the room as she and Jake were getting ready to head out.

"Sure," Zach replied enthusiastically.

The three of them headed down to the barn in two trucks, Jake and Alex in Jake's truck while Zach drove Alex's. Jake lit the brush that Billy, John and Brian had stacked into a large pile earlier, while Alex and Zach got the bunkhouse sorted out. Jake, Manny and Danny had all had double beds in their own rooms since they didn't have more bodies to house, but there were twin bunk beds in storage that would go into the two empty bedrooms, four beds per room. That would be enough beds for everyone for the night. Then they could rearrange things tomorrow after they figured out where everyone was going to stay. Alex cleaned up Danny's room by shoving everything into the closet. She then changed the sheets and blankets on Jake's old bed; they had previously moved all of Jake's things to one of the guest rooms in the main house.

By the time they were finished, Jake had already retrieved two of the bodies from outside the gate and tossed them on the fire. The other two were too heavy to lift on his own and he asked Zach to help him bring them back. Alex pulled her truck over to a pile of firewood near the bunkhouse and tossed as many pieces in the back as she could, then returned to the fire and started stoking it with the larger logs, getting it nice and hot. By now they had learned just how much wood it took to properly burn a body, and Alex wanted to make sure there was enough wood on hand to get through all four bodies.

When Jake and Zach returned, Alex asked Zach if he would mind running up to the house and letting Billy know that the bunkhouse was ready for everyone. Then she thanked him for helping and told him they were going to run out to the main road and back. Luckily, there was no wind this evening and they felt comfortable leaving the fire unattended for the fifteen minutes it would take them to run to the end of the road and back. They took Jake's truck, leaving Alex's with the load of wood near the fire.

"Zach seems like uh pretty good kid," Jake said once they were outside of the gate. "Less annoyin' than his brother, keeps his mouth shut an' his eyes open."

"Yeah, he was great out on our run, didn't talk or do anything stupid. Just paid attention and did what he was told. I think he will be a great help around here. Everyone else that came today seem like good people too. Everyone helping out and volunteering for jobs, I think we got lucky. Hopefully tomorrow will be more of the same," Alex said.

"Let's hope," Jake said.

They were driving slowly down the dirt road with the headlights off. The moon was just past full and there was plenty of light for them to make their way. When they got to the end of the road, Jake parked and turned the truck off.

"What're you doing," Alex asked. "I thought we were just coming out to take a look."

Jake lit a cigarette and handed it to Alex, then lit another for himself.

"Jus' wanted ta make sure yer okay. Thangs have been goin' nonstop all day, an' after tha rough couple uh days we had I thought I should check in with ya. See if ya changed yer mind 'bout bringin' all these people here," he asked, exhaling a large cloud of smoke.

Alex took a few drags before she responded. "I'm good, actually. I mean, there's a lot to do, but everyone seems willing to work and that goes a long way with me. But I may feel differently tomorrow once more people get here," she said as she took another drag. "We should probably get back to the fire. Don't want to burn the place down when we're just getting started."

"Alrigh'. Jus' promise me somethin' first," Jake said to her as he started the truck.

"Anything, you know that," Alex said without thinking.

"Jus' promise me tha' you'll come ta me with anythin' that's buggin' you. Don' jus' go off dealin' with thangs yerself, tell me so I can help ya. We're in this together still, right," he asked her, raising his eyes to meet hers in the glow of the dash lights.

Alex ground her cigarette out in the ashtray and took Jake's hand in hers. "Of course we're in this together," she said looking into Jake's blue eyes. "I promise you I won't keep my frustrations to myself, okay? We're a team, just like always," she finished. She squeezed his hand before releasing it. She thought she saw disappointment flash in Jake's eyes when she let his hand go, but when she looked again his eyes looked like they always did, like the sea on a stormy day.

Jake didn't say anything, just nodded to her and pulled the truck around to head back home.

When they pulled in through the gate, they could see the fire was still blazing. As they approached the barn, they could tell that people were starting to move into the bunkhouse, the light inside created shadows against the curtains. Alex settled onto the tailgate of her truck, facing the fire, while Jake went over to the bunkhouse to make sure Billy had everything under control.

About ten minutes later, Alex got up to toss a couple of logs on the fire. As she returned to her perch on the tailgate, Jake approached and tossed a two-way radio to her, saying he found them in the closet and changed the batteries. Alex switched her radio on and was happy to hear the crackle indicating it worked.

"What do you think the range is," Alex asked. "You think they'll work between here and the main road?"

"Don't see why not. Used 'em five or six miles apart when we were helpin' look for that little girl that got lost a few years ago," he said.

"Hope they still work. I was thinkin' that I could let you know when someone is coming in, that way no one has to stand at the gate all day. And I'll let you know if I see anything while I'm out there," Alex said.

"Sounds good. You headin' out first thang ta look fer tha horses? Ya wan' me ta come," Jake asked.

"Nah, you should stay here and help get things ready. Shouldn't take me too long. Figured I'd just head up to their favorite spot and start whistling for them. With all the activity around the barn I thought I'd put them in the eastern pasture until things settle down and we can move them to the stalls in the barn," she replied.

"Alrigh'," Jake said as he tossed a couple more logs into the fire. Sparks shot up into the inky black sky, reminding Jake of the fireflies they had back home in Georgia.

"We should head up to the house pretty soon, gonna be a long day tomorrow," Alex said, getting up from the tailgate.

"You go on ahead," Jake said. "I'll stay down here 'til tha fire burns down a bit."

"You sure? I can stay," she said.

Jake just nodded.

Alex could tell that something was on Jake's mind, but it was clear he wasn't ready to talk about it. She would give him space and he would talk to her when he was ready.

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna turn in then. Want me to wake you when I leave in the morning," she asked.

"Prolly be up, but yeah, lemme know. Night, Al," Jake finished.

"Night. See ya in the mornin," Alex said before turning and walking to the house.


	14. Chapter 14 - Day Ten, Part One

**Day 10, Part One**

**Alex's POV**

Alex had set her alarm for 5:00 a.m., but she woke long before it went off. She turned the alarm off and got dressed, strapping on her knives and slinging her AR over her shoulder before heading down to the kitchen to prepare food and water to take with her, just in case it took her longer than planned to find the horses. She set the pack and rifle down while she went back up to Jake's room to let him know she was heading out.

Alex knocked lightly on Jake's door before opening it a crack and seeing him sound asleep on the bed. She felt bad waking him at 4:30 in the morning, but she had told him she would let him know she was leaving. Jake had been acting a little odd after their conversation in the truck and she hadn't even heard him come in from the fire. She hoped that whatever had been bothering him he'd been able to sort out.

"Jake," she whispered as she approached the bed. "Jake!"

He didn't move. Alex reached down and put her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him while saying his name a little louder than before.

"Mmmpphhh," Jake groaned as he rolled over away from her. "'S too early, Al, come back to bed," he said, pulling her to him by the hand she had placed on his shoulder.

Alex was caught off guard and found herself being pulled down onto the bed next to him. She suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach as she felt him snuggle closer to her. Alex pulled her hand away and jumped up from the bed, pulling herself together and trying to ignore how she suddenly felt cold when she put distance between them.

"Jake," Alex called in the most normal voice she could summon. "Jake, wake up!"

"Huh? Wha' time's it? Everythin' okay," he mumbled out as he rolled over to face her.

"It's a little before five. Everything's fine. I'm just goin' to look for the horses. You told me to wake you before I left." Her voice trailed off at the end, she wasn't sure what else to say. Her brain was going a mile a minute and it was all she could do to keep herself from running out the door.

"Okay. Take tha walkie with ya, 's over on tha desk there," he said, indicating the desk across from the bed. "When ya get up there, radio in an' we'll see if they still work."

"Sounds good," she said, taking the walkie from the desk. "I'll see ya in a couple hours."

"Be careful out there," Jake said as Alex closed the door behind her.

The grey pre-dawn sky provided plenty of light for Alex to see by since she wasn't following tracks. She followed the road to the barn where she gathered a harness and a lead rope. All she needed to do was grab one of the horses, the rest would likely follow. If not, she could always ride bareback and herd them back to the pasture. She stuffed the ropes in her pack and continued on, crossing the creek at the tire swing and heading up the mountain on the road that led past the eastern pasture. She kept a good, fast pace and made it to the halfway point in twenty minutes.

Alex whistled for the horses, giving them a few minutes to see if she heard them respond nearby. When she heard nothing but the early morning songbirds, she continued on her way. She stopped and did this three more times before she reached the top of the mountain, where her mom was buried. At her mom's grave, Alex paused, adding a small rock to the cairn before heading on, this time down the mountain along a trail that led southwest to a meadow where she often found the horses grazing.

She continued her pause-and-whistle routine, and was surprised when she came upon one of the horses standing there in the middle of the trail like it was waiting for her. Honey, she was named ironically for her less-than-sweet disposition, was not Alex's favorite horse. She was temperamental and skittish and she had a penchant for nipping at you when your back was turned. Alex had been bitten by her at least five times, never anything really bad, but she had drawn blood once. Her parents had always refused to get rid of her because she was really a beautiful horse and had great bloodlines. But she was the only one of their horses that wasn't rideable.

Alex slowed her pace but continued to walk up to the horse, talking to her as she approached. She hoped that this wouldn't be one of those times that Honey tried to bite her. Alex thought she just might snap and shoot the damn horse if she tried. Luckily, this was not one of those times. Honey stood there and rolled her eyes back in her head as she waited for Alex to get closer. When Alex placed her hand near the horse's nostrils so she could inhale her scent, Honey tossed her head back a few times as she pawed at the ground with her front hoof. She took a few steps backwards, reared up, turned and started trotting back down the trail in the direction Alex was heading.

_Of course this is the horse I would come across_, Alex thought to herself. She followed Honey down the trail until it opened up into a large meadow. The horse stood about twenty feet away, still tossing her head back and forth while pawing the ground. Alex continued to follow her, as Alex would approach within a few feet, Honey would trot off a little further. _She's obviously trying to lead me somewhere_, Alex thought.

Alex followed Honey to the far end of the meadow to a small clump of bushes. The horse had finally stopped rolling her eyes back and tossing her head back and forth, standing calmly next to the bushes. Alex heard rustling behind Honey and raised her gun, looking for the source of the sound.

Alex heard soft, childlike whimpers coming from the bushes and she lowered her gun slightly as she called out, "Whoever's in there go ahead and come on out slowly."

After a moment, the branches twitched and a young girl stepped from the bushes. Her long brown hair was tangled and matted with leaves and twigs. She was wrapped in a filthy, tattered blanket and Alex could see that her clothing underneath was dirty and torn as well. When the girl raised her face to look at Alex, Alex immediately recognized her, lowering her gun completely.

"Sally," Alex squeaked as she ran to the girl.

"Alex? Oh my god, Alex I'm so glad to see you," the girl cried. "I can't believe you found us. You gotta help, Simon's real sick," she said, indicating the bushes behind her.

Alex followed Sally into the bushes where she found Simon asleep on the ground, curled into his own filthy blanket. The young boy looked pale and was far too skinny for Alex's liking. She reached out and felt the boys forehead - he was burning up.

"How long has he been like this," Alex asked the girl.

"A couple of days I think. We've been running from house to house since we found my parents at home after school. We had to leave the last house we were hiding in day before yesterday and we ended up here. He fell asleep yesterday and won't wake up," Sally said.

"We gotta get him back to our place, we got a doc coming in later today and we've got some medicine that might help bring the fever down." Alex took off her pack and handed Sally a bottle of water while she tried to get Jake on the walkie.

"Jake, do you copy?" There was static for a moment then Jake's voice broke through.

"I hear ya, Al. Ya find 'em yet," he asked.

"Jake, we got an emergency here. Can you meet me near the orchards with a truck? Found the Johnson kids out here, Simon's real sick. Over."

"Copy, meet ya there with tha truck in ten. Over."

"Thanks," Alex said before tossing the walkie back in her bag.

"You think you can carry my pack so I can carry your brother," she asked Sally.

Sally nodded and took the pack, swinging it to her back. "I can carry your gun too," Sally offered.

"Thanks, but I feel better carrying it myself." Alex lifted Simon up, but the kid was heavy. If she remembered correctly, Simon should be about eight and Sally about eleven. It was at least two miles from the meadow to the orchard, but it was much closer than going back the way she'd come. When she emerged from the bushes, Honey was still standing there calmly, as if waiting for them to emerge.

Alex knew that the best chance at arriving quickly was getting the three of them on Honey. But Alex wasn't sure if the ornery horse would cooperate. She set the boy down and approached the horse with her hand out.

"I know you really don't like being ridden, girl, but I really need to get these kids out of here. Will you take us," she asked Honey who was now inhaling Alex's scent from her hand. The horse was calmer than Alex had ever seen her and she was positive the animal understood what she was saying.

Alex returned to Sally, pulled the rope and harness from the pack and returned to the horse, easily sliding the harness over her head. She hooked the lead to the harness on one side and tied the other end of the rope to the other side of the harness, resulting in makeshift reins. She threw the reins over Honey's head to rest on her neck while she bent over to pick up Simon. She walked to the closest step she could find - a pile of rocks - and carefully climbed up on them. Honey stood still, seeming to know that Alex was going to climb on her back with the child. When they were in place, Alex called Sally over and helped the girl climb up behind her, telling her to hold on tight and squeeze with her legs. They would be heading down a pretty steep hill at first and it would be difficult to keep all three of them on the horse without a saddle, especially since the boy was just dead weight.

To her credit, Honey acted like she had been ridden her whole life. She seemed to choose her steps carefully as they slowly walked down the mountain towards the creek, and the riders managed to stay on her back. They definitely made better time than they would have if Alex had to carry him the whole way, and when they crossed the creek to the orchards Jake was there waiting for them.

Honey stopped next to the truck and Jake helped Sally down, then took Simon from Alex. Alex hopped down, then removed the harness and lead from Honey. As soon as she was free, she shook herself out, like she was trying to shake the experience off. Alex patted her on the neck before Honey darted off out of reach. Alex let out a long whistle, trying to call the others down off the mountain, then she got in the truck. Jake placed the boy back in her lap and they drove to the house.

"How tha hell didja manage to get tha' horse ta let ya ride 'er," Jake asked incredulously.

"Was the weirdest thing, actually. She was standing in the middle of the trail like she was waiting for me, then she led me to where the kids were hiding and she waited while I figured out what to do. Then she let me touch her muzzle and I told her that we really needed her help and she just let us get on and brought us safely down the hill. I swear, if I didn't just experience it I would never believe it," Alex finished.

"If I didn't see ya on 'er I wouldn'ta believed ya either," Jake replied.

The clock in the truck said it was just after six. This morning had definitely not gone how Alex imagined it would. Simon was still unconscious in her lap. Alex was worried that he would never wake up. She couldn't believe these kids had survived out there for ten days. She hoped that they hadn't had to do any of the horrible things that she'd had to do. She felt bad about their parents, though she was amazed that they had apparently found them and then gotten away. Sally had always been a quick thinker.

They pulled up to the barn and Alex was thrilled to see that Tim and Doc had just arrived with a trailer and a bunch of people. Jake jumped out of the truck, hollering for Doc, who came running to the truck with his bag. Jake pulled Simon's limp body from the truck and Doc took one look at him, telling Jake to set him on the bed of the truck. Alex climbed into the bed and cradled the boys head in her lap while Doc looked him over, checking his temperature, listening to his heart and lungs and trying to assess what the problem was. He peeled Simon's eyelid back and checked his pupils for reactivity, frowning when there wasn't any. He looked at Alex and shook his head.

"Can you tell me what happened," Doc asked Sally.

"When we came home from school the day everyone was sent home early we found our parents… in bad shape in our house… I think our dad killed our mom... I got Simon out of there, but we didn't have any food or clothes or anything and I didn't know what to do. So we ran to the neighbors house, hoping to find Mrs. Jensen and that she could help us. But we just saw another one of the monsters there, so we kept running until we found a house that didn't have any monsters. We ate their food and slept there for a couple of days, but more monsters came and we ran again. We finally found a place where all the monsters were dead, so we stayed there. But then Simon started coughing and wouldn't eat and more monsters came and we ran again, I crossed the creek hoping they wouldn't be able to follow us. But then Simon sat down and he couldn't get up again, and then he fell asleep and wouldn't wake up. I didn't know what else to do, so I just curled up with him and tried to keep him warm. Then the horsey found us and wouldn't leave until we heard the whistling this morning and then Alex was there," she finished. Sally continued to look around at the adults surrounding her, perhaps expecting them to tell her she was in trouble.

"I bet you're hungry," Alex said to her. Sally nodded with big, wide eyes. "Why don't you go with Kathy," she said, waving Kathy over to the truck," and she'll get some food in ya."

"What about Simon," Sally asked.

"Doc is gonna take a good look at him and see if he can make him better," Alex replied. "We'll do everything we can."

Sally allowed Kathy to lead her towards the bunkhouse where they had moved a large amount of food. She looked back at the truck before being led inside. Alex had a sinking feeling about the boy's condition.

"Well, Doc, how bad is it," Alex asked him.

"I don't think he's gonna come out of the coma," Doc said tiredly. "There's no response from his pupils at all, and his fever is 105.8. He's dehydrated and his lungs sound like they're filled with fluid. We can try to get the fever down, but you all should know that I'm not very confident in a positive outcome."

They all looked at one another letting Doc's words sink in. For her part, Alex didn't want to waste the medicine they had, but she didn't want to just write the child off either. It was a cruel joke that she would find the children only to have one die. They had survived so much on their own.

"We can't just do nothin'," Jake said. "Maybe we can try gettin' his fever down an' see if anythin' changes after that," Jake suggested.

"We can give it a shot," Doc said. "His system is very fragile and we can't do anything that shocks it at this point. So we can't put him in a cold bath, but we could start rubbing him down with cool compresses using rubbing alcohol and water," he suggested.

"We've got all that stuff at the house," Alex said. "Let's take him up there, will you let Sally know that we're moving him to the house and bring her up when she's finished eating," Alex asked looking at Tim.

"Sure thing. Billy an' I will stay here and keep things moving," Tim offered.

After moving the boy to the house and settling him on the couch in the living room, Alex pulled the needed supplies out for Doc and helped him remove Simon's clothing so they could wipe him down with the cloths.

"Oh fuck," Alex said as she pulled Simon's pants off. There was a small festering scratch on his calf that his sock had stuck to. It had clearly been infected for a while, the skin around the edges had turned black and a horrible rotting smell filled her nose as soon as the wound was exposed.

"I guess that explains the fever," Doc said. "Looks like he got scratched by one of them. This changes things a bit."

Alex started to pull her hunting knife out, but Jake put his hand on hers to stop her. "We gotta let 'is sister say goodbye first," Jake said. "She needs ta know wha' happened ta him."

Alex nodded, removing her hand from the knife. Jake grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch and covered Simon, gently placing a hand on his head. Alex could see that Jake was trying to blink away the tears that were gathering in his eyes. She reached down for his other hand and laced her fingers in his, giving his hand a squeeze letting him know she was there for him. Jake squeezed back just as a few tears escaped and rolled down his cheek.

"One of you should go get Sally. I don't think he's going to make it much longer. His breaths are getting shallower," Doc said.

"I'll go," Alex said, meeting Jake's glassy eyes. "I'll be right back, I promise," she said to him before wrapping her arms around him and bringing him in for a hug. Jake slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him tightly, his breath was warm against her neck, sending shivers down Alex's spine. The warm feeling she'd gotten when Jake had briefly snuggled into her in his bed a few hours ago returned, making Alex's head swim with unbidden thoughts she didn't know what to do with. The only thought that was clear in her mind was that she didn't want to move from this spot, ever.

Jake finally pulled himself away from her, the look on his face almost made Alex cry. She'd never seen him so upset by something; he looked like someone had ripped his heart out and all she wanted was to make him feel better. Jake lifted his hand, cupping Alex's cheek and gently running his thumb over the stitches there. She raised her eyes to meet his and Alex felt the air go out of the room. Suddenly, it was like they were the only two people in the world and Jake's eyes stared intensely back at her, like he was trying to read her mind.

"How's my brother?" Sally's voice broke into Alex's thoughts and the moment between her and Jake was lost. He pulled himself away from her as Sally and Kathy walked in from the back of the house. Sally lost no time in flinging herself down at her brother's side, gripping his hand in hers.

Alex looked at Doc, expecting him to do the explaining, but everyone just looked back at her, so Alex took the lead.

"We got a better look at him once we got his clothes off and it looks like he got a bad scratch that got infected," she said as she pulled the blanket back from Simon's legs. She pointed at the infected cut and Sally's eyes followed, getting big when she saw how bad it was. She was only eleven, but she could tell it was bad. "Do you know how it happened?"

Sally started to get tears in her eyes. "It's all my fault! The monsters were coming and we had to run out of the house really fast. It was dark and we ran straight into more of the monsters coming out of the house, but I thought we dodged them. He said he hit his leg on something, but I didn't see any blood and he didn't complain about it anymore. I thought he just got a cold and would get better…" Her voice trailed off and tears started rolling down her cheeks. Alex moved down to the floor so she could comfort the girl; Sally immediately turned into Alex's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her neck, now sobbing freely.

"Doc said he doesn't think Simon has much longer, Sally. Do you want to say goodbye to him," Alex asked. Sally nodded and turned to her brother. She whispered something in his ear, then gave him a kiss on the forehead. Her tears were flowing freely and leaving wet spots on Simon's face. When she finished, she curled back into Alex's arms and continued crying quietly.

Alex picked the girl up and carried her upstairs to the second guest room, nodding to Kathy for her to follow. "Do you want to take a bath," Alex asked Sally as she sat her on the guest bed. The girl shook her head no. "Do you want to lay down and take a nap," she tried. Sally nodded and yawned. "Would it be okay if Kathy sat here with you for a little while?"

Sally smiled. "Sure. I remember Ms. Kathy from school. She's our librarian."

Kathy sat down next to the girl and started stroking her tangled hair. "You sure you don't want to take a bath, Sally? We can get you all cleaned up and brush your hair out, then you could sleep comfortably in this nice, clean bed," she suggested.

Sally shrugged her shoulders. "Okay," she said quietly.

Alex showed them to the bathroom and got towels out for them while Kathy started the bath. Alex grabbed the smallest t-shirt she could find in her dresser and a pair of drawstring pajama pants, some detangler and a brush from the cabinet and placed them on the counter with the towels.

"I'm gonna run downstairs and check with Jake and Doc, then I'll come back and check on you guys. There's some clothes there that you can use as pajamas until we find something better for ya, okay," she asked. Kathy nodded and Sally smiled at her, then Alex turned and headed back downstairs.

Jake was spreading a sheet out on the floor and Doc was leaning over Simon, checking for a heartbeat with his stethoscope. Alex's heart sank. She hurried down the stairs to help, picking the boy up when Doc shook his head and placing him on the sheet. Jake started to wrap him up, but Alex waved him off, completing the job herself. They tied some twine around the ends to secure the sheet, then Jake carried him out to the front porch.

Alex followed him out, pulling her pack of cigarettes from her backpack which had been left inside by Sally. She offered Jake one then took one for herself. They sat and smoked in silence for a few minutes until Doc came out and joined them.

"We should we bury him," Alex said. "There's a nice spot down there," she said, pointing down to the left off the porch. "It's got a nice big live oak tree for shade and there's lots of wildflowers nearby. You can hear the creek from there, it will be a nice place for Sally to visit him if she wants to."

"Yeah, that's a nice spot," Jake agreed. "I'll get a shovel and start digging," he said.

Just at that moment, the body started to move, followed by groans. Alex quickly stood, drawing her knife, then quietly she sunk the blade into the child's sheet-covered temple. "Can you move him? I don't want Sally to see him like this," she said. "I should go back and check on her."

Jake nodded, picked the body up and carried it down the hill to the little grove that Alex was talking about. Alex went back inside, followed by Doc.

"We're gonna have to run down to the barn to grab a couple shovels, check in with the boys and see how the move is going. There's still so much to do, and I haven't even had breakfast yet," Alex said, pacing in the living room.

"What can I do to help out," Doc asked.

"Would you mind helping Kathy out around here today, as long as you aren't needed somewhere else? Sally seems awfully taken with Kathy and I really need to run out to the road and see how everything looks. Gotta make sure the traffic isn't drawing any attention in our direction," Alex said.

"I'd be glad to," Doc answered with a smile. "Wanted to check her out anyway and make sure she doesn't need anything more than a few good meals… and maybe a really good explanation as to what's going on."

"I'm sure she's more than a little confused. We should wait on that, if we can. Let her get some food in her belly and some good sleep. Might help, might not. I have no idea how to explain all this to myself when I wake up, how do I explain it to a kid," Alex asked with a little panic edging into her voice.

"Now, don't worry about that bridge just yet. And it's not just on you. There's a whole community of us to help take care of her. And any others we find, for that matter," Doc said kindly.

Alex smiled at him, happy he was there at that moment. "I'm going to run up and check on them. If Jake comes back tell him to wait for me to go to the barn," Alex said as she turned and headed for the stairs.

Kathy was just rinsing Sally's hair out, pouring a cupful of water over her head. Sally had her eyes tightly squeezed shut with her arms wrapped around her knees in front of her. Alex waited until Sally opened her eyes to enter the bathroom.

"How're ya feelin'," she asked.

"A little better," Sally answered. "I never knew I could miss being clean."

"Yeah, I know what ya mean. So, Sally, we've got a big group of people moving in here today and there's lots of work to do. I'm gonna have to go to the barn and check on how the move is going. Do you think you will be okay here with Kathy? There's lots of food in the fridge and you can sleep here all day if you want," Alex suggested.

"That's fine. I really just want to sleep right now. Simon's gone, right," Sally asked sadly.

"Yes, he went very quietly a few minutes before I came upstairs. We found a nice little place not too far from the house to bury him, if that's okay with you," Alex said.

"Sure," Sally said. "I'm ready to get out now Miss Kathy." Kathy got a towel and held it out to the girl.

"We'll be right out in the hall if you need anything," Kathy said as Sally wrapped herself in the towel.

Kathy and Alex stepped outside while Sally dried and dressed herself.

"You don't mind hanging out here with her, do you," Alex asked. "I know there's a lot going on, but she really seems to like you."

"No worries at all, Alex. I have always liked Sally, she was always very helpful and super smart. I'll do anything I can to help her," Kathy said. "You guys go on and take care of things out there, Sally and I will be just fine."

Sally came out of the bathroom in Alex's over-sized clothes with a sheepish smile. "They're a bit big, but comfy," she told Alex. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"I'm glad I found you, kiddo. I know it's a lot, and I'm sure you have tons of questions. You think you can hold off on getting answers until you've slept some," Alex asked her.

"Yeah. I don't really want to think about any of that right now anyway," Sally replied.

"Alright. You and Kathy get comfortable. There's movies downstairs in the cabinet if you need a distraction. I'll see you in a few hours. If you need me, find Jake. He has a walkie and he'll be able to reach me, okay," Alex finished.

Kathy and Sally nodded, then Kathy began brushing out Sally's hair to get the girl ready for a nap.

When Alex got back downstairs she saw Jake and Doc out on the porch talking. She joined them, telling Jake that Sally was taken care of so they were free to move on to other pressing matters of the day. It was now a little after eight and the move should be in full swing. Alex let Doc know what she had told Kathy, and that if anything happened to find Jake to call her back, then Doc went to check on Sally.

Jake and Alex walked the short distance to the barn, the buzz of activity was audible before they could even see the barn from the road. When they came around the corner and it came into view, they both paused, looking down on the scene.

There were trailers now lined up all along two sides of the barn, with the bus backed up and parked near the front of the barn. There were people milling around the trailers and the barn, and there were trucks everywhere in various states of unloading. They walked down to where they saw Billy and Tim giving directions and helping sort the scavenged items that were getting dropped off.

Billy noticed them approaching and gave them a questioning look, Alex shook her head once in reply. Billy leaned over to Tim and said something, then headed over to meet them.

"No good, eh," Billy asked. Jake and Alex shook their heads.

"We got things under control here, if you need to take care of the girl and the body," Billy said. "We got the trailers all hooked up and people are movin' in, they all sorted themselves out as far as living arrangements. Looks like we won't end up using them all, some people want to stay in the bunkhouse and some groups want their own trailer, it's actually working out really well. The ladies are on top of the sorting and inventory, I don't know how Kathy got it all setup, but those women are goin' to town organizing all the stuff that's gettin' brought in from the runs. I picked the rest of the perimeter team and sent them out with Zach to basically just get a feel for the lay of the land. Zach is pointing out the places where you guys have had pile ups, explaining how we want them killed. There's six of them out there right now, figure we'll get settled and figure out who else is gonna be on that team later. We didn't send anyone out to the main road yet, though, wanted to check with ya'll first."

"I still want to head out there for a while. I'll have a walkie. I can come back whenever you need me and if I don't see anything out there after a couple hours I'll head back," Alex said.

"I can send someone else out there," Billy said. "It don't gotta be you all the time, kid."

"I don't mind. I could use a little quiet time, actually," Alex replied. "I've gotta pack water and something to eat, but I'll head out after that. I was gonna ride a horse, but I guess I'm taking my truck."

Jake grabbed a couple of shovels from the tool room and they headed back to the house.

"I want ya back here as soon as ya can," Jake said as they walked.

"Okay. It doesn't seem like Billy is too worried, which means no one has seen anything so far, so hopefully I won't see anything either and I can come back in a couple of hours," she replied. She still hadn't had any time to think about any of the things that had happened between the two of them so far that morning. She really was looking forward to a couple of hours alone.

"An' don't go bein' a hero, if there's trouble, ya radio back an' tell me, an' we'll come back ya up," he said sternly.

"Sheesh. Okay, I get it. Don't be stupid. Don't get hurt. Don't be a hero. I got it, alright? Ease up, will ya," she said.

Jake stopped walking and dropped the shovels to the ground with a loud clang. He turned to Alex and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "This ain't some fuckin' joke, Alex. I don't wanna let'cha outta my sight fer a minute, let alone a couple uh hours."

Jake was squeezing the shoulder that Alex had cut the hash marks into, and she winced slightly as his grip tightened on her. Jake saw her flinch and seemed to realize what he was doing, relaxing his grip and sliding his hands down her arms and taking her hands in his.

"Sorry. Didn't mean ta hurt ya," he said quietly.

Alex squeezed his hands in hers. "It's okay, Jake. I get it, you're worried about me. I'll be fine, I promise I won't do anything stupid." She felt pulled to him, the longer she stood there looking at him the stronger the pull became. Jake again raised his hand and cupped her cheek, running his thumb over the stitches. Alex's breath hitched at the sensation.

"It still hurtin'," he asked her in a low voice. She shook her head, keeping eye contact with him.

Jake leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to the cut, then rested his forehead against hers, their breath mingling between them. He held her head in place with his hand behind her neck. Alex could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she was sure Jake could hear it. She was suddenly curious about how his lips would feel on hers, and the thought scared the shit out of her. This was Jake. Her Jake. She'd had a crush on him since she was little, but it had never been anything more than that. He was so much older than her that it was never anything more than a teen girl daydream. Nothing Alex had ever dreamed of came close to the feelings that were exploding inside of her now.

Jake pulled away from her and kissed her forehead; Alex could feel his lips there after he pulled away. With space now between them, Alex felt a chill. Jake didn't say anything, just picked up the shovels in one hand, took Alex's hand in the other and they walked back to the house. When they reached the porch, she thought he would release her hand, but he just leaned the shovels against the porch railing and led her inside.

"I've gotta get some food together and get moving," Alex said.

Jake gave her hand a squeeze before he released it, and Alex picked up her pack from the floor and took it to the kitchen. She looked through the contents, making sure she had what she needed before adding a couple of sandwiches, apples and water. She made sure the walkie was in there and turned on, then went and grabbed her rifle.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya in a couple hours," she said to him as they headed back out to the porch.

Jake picked up the shovels and walked her down the stairs. "Alrigh'. 'Member what I said, call me if ya need help, okay?"

"Will do," she smiled at him as she turned to walk to the barn where her truck was still parked.


	15. Chapter 15 - Day Ten, Part Two

**Note: Due to the enthusiastic response to the last chapter I am posting another today! Thanks for reading :) Comments/feedback much appreciated.**

**Day Ten, Part Two**

**Alex's POV**

Alex drove down the dirt road in a haze. Aaron had tried to tag along with her when she reached the barn to get her truck; she had basically had to be mean to him to get him to leave her alone. She felt a little bad, but she couldn't deal with his shit at the moment. She needed this time alone more than anything. She had to get her thoughts straight. So much had happened in the last five hours, it was like life was now moving at double time but her brain was only processing it at slow speed.

Alex got close to the end of the dirt road and pulled her truck off to the side, under the shade of some trees so it couldn't be seen from the main road. She was going to leave the truck here and walk to the end of the road, then head into the brush to a more concealed spot where she could get a clear look at the property across the road. Alex slung her pack over both shoulders and her rifle over her right shoulder, then climbed through the barbed wire fence and into the bushes. She had a tree in mind that she thought she could climb and use as a lookout.

When she found the tree, Alex was glad to see that it was easy to climb, with a perfect little 'v' where she could wedge herself in and have a stable base for the rifle if she had to fire the weapon. She got settled in, then looked through the scope to inspect the nearby fields for threats.

She spent the next half hour methodically sweeping the fields through the scope, surprisingly only finding two walkers which she took out quickly. Alex hung her gun from a sturdy branch and got a sandwich out of her bag. She was starving. If she'd known the morning would be so fucking crazy she would've eaten at 4:00 when she got up.

She thought back to the morning and how Jake had pulled her into bed with him. He obviously wasn't really awake when he did it. Maybe he had been dreaming about her… wait, if he had been dreaming about her and told her it was too early and to get _back _in bed… did that mean he was having a sex dream about her?

Sex. Sex with Jake. Alex didn't know what to think about that. She'd never been attracted anyone like that before. She'd had boyfriends, but she'd never done anything other than hold hands with them, having never been curious about kissing or anything that went with it. The boys had called her a prude when she declined their amorous advances, but it never bothered her. She knew how sex worked and what it led to, having been raised around animals, and she'd never been curious about it. Hell, her first kiss had been three days ago when Aaron had kissed her in the bar. She wasn't even sure if that counted since she hadn't participated in the kiss.

But when Jake had touched her cheek and kissed her cut, then pressed his forehead to hers, holding her head still with his hands, she'd felt a warmth radiate out from her belly and she'd wanted nothing more than to press her lips to his. She wanted to know what his skin felt like under her hands, against her lips, against her skin. Alex had never had those urges before and they scared her. She'd almost felt out of control and that was a feeling she didn't like. She was always in control. Well, almost always.

Alex was brought back to the present by the sound of a vehicle approaching. She pulled the gun down and looked through the scope, recognizing the driver from the storage compound. The truck was piled high with supplies, _they must have been out on a run, _she thought. Alex shifted her position slightly so she could look down the road in the direction the truck had come from. After a couple of minutes, she saw some walkers coming down the road slowly in her direction. Alex waited to see if the group grew.

Sure enough, after ten minutes, she could see about ten of them wandering down the road towards her. Alex wanted to get closer to see if there was a larger group beyond what she could see, since her view from this angle was blocked by the trees. She gathered her things and climbed down, slipping through the brush and across the dirt road, into the brush on the other side. She walked quietly through the trees until she found one that would be easy to climb and would offer the view she needed.

When she got situated on a stable branch, she again looked through the scope to evaluate things. She let out a gasp when she saw that the group was indeed much larger than the ten she had seen initially. Alex quickly counted twenty nine of them and there were probably a few more that she missed. Alex's instincts told her to deal with the threat herself, she had plenty of ammo to take them out from this distance, but what she really wanted to do was go down to that part of the road, keeping the fence between them and take them out by hand. She didn't think that she needed to use the bullets that they might end up needing later.

Alex's promise to Jake echoed in her brain, reminding her that she had promised him she wouldn't do anything heroic or stupid. Jake would probably consider this to fall under both categories, but Alex didn't agree. The safe thing was to eliminate the threat before it became a serious threat and brought danger closer to their people.

Her decision made, Alex climbed down from the tree and moved silently through the brush towards the oncoming herd. When she found a good position, she hung her pack from a tree branch and set her rifle on the ground next to her, pulling her knife from its sheath. There was enough room here for her to swing her knife arm easily and the trees kept her from being visible from a distance. The walkers would only see her once they were almost on top of her. Alex's plan was to take out as many as she could with her knives before she used her gun.

It didn't take long for the first walkers to approach her location. She tossed a pebble to draw the attention of the first two to her, stabbing them quickly in the eye when they came within reach. They trickled by her in ones and twos, quickly being taken down by Alex's blade before the next group ambled up.

A dozen bodies had piled up at her feet before Alex realized that the pile was a problem. As the next walker lunged for her, it lost its footing on the pile of bodies and fell forward, impaling itself on an iron fence post. The post stabbed up through the things chest, leaving its arms free to flail about trying to grab her. Alex dodged the arms, slipping in to stab the walker in the eye. This messed up Alex's timing, and two more walkers piled against the fence while she regained her fight stance. She dispatched them quickly too, but the weight of the three bodies leaning against the fence was enough to start pushing the fence back towards Alex, with no end in sight to the oncoming walkers.

Alex took out two more as they came up to the fence, trying to push them back when she pulled her knife out of them. She managed to keep them from falling directly onto the fence, but it would only be a matter of time before she lost the protection of the fence if she couldn't get the other bodies off of it.

She figured she was about halfway through the herd, assuming her count had been close to accurate. Alex pulled her first throwing knife, trying to take out some of the walkers that were in the next wave to give her time to clear the fence. She took out six in rapid succession with the throwing knives, then managed to get two of the bodies off the fence before the next wave arrived. Alex stabbed and pushed each one away as she withdrew her knife, keeping the fence clear except for the walker impaled on the post.

Alex grabbed her gun and moved further down the fence, hoping to draw them away from the weak spot. From her new location, Alex could see that there weren't too many left. She used the AR to take the rest of them out, deciding it was time to wrap this up. When she was sure there weren't any more, she went back to the body hanging on the post and managed to push it up and off.

Alex climbed through the fence to retrieve her knives, carefully checking her surroundings before coming out into the open. After collecting all six knives, Alex retreated to the cover of the bushes behind the fence. She didn't want to leave all the bodies piled up like this, it would be obvious to the living that someone had killed them all and they might come nosing around. Alex couldn't move them all by herself though, and she didn't want to be alone in the open. She decided to radio Jake and have him bring help.

"Jake, ya read me," she said into the walkie. She'd been out here for just over an hour. She figured he'd still be digging Simon's grave.

"Yeah, I copy, Al," Jake's voice crackled through the speaker.

"I killed a bunch of walkers out here, but I need some help moving the bodies. You think you can send a couple people out to help? Need a couple people with guns for lookouts too. Over," she finished. She hoped he wouldn't be mad that she didn't call sooner.

There was silence for a long time before she finally heard the crackle that preceded Jake's voice.

"Be there in a few. Over," was all he said.

Alex knew he was pissed. She climbed back up the second tree she'd used as a lookout to keep an eye on things between now and the time back up arrived. She looked through the scope, down the road she'd first seen the walkers approaching from and scoured the area for movement. She didn't take her eye off the scope until she heard a truck coming down the dirt road, then she climbed down, grabbed her pack and made her way to the stopped truck.

Jake jumped out of the passenger's seat and was on her in a flash, grabbing her by her shoulders once again. Instead of yelling at her like she expected, he just looked at her, turning her around so he could see for himself that she wasn't injured. When he realized she was okay, he released her and took a step back.

"Where," was all he said.

She led him out on the road and showed him the piles at the fence. Jake shook his head but didn't say anything to her, just turned to the truck and waved it over. Tim drove the truck over and backed it up, while four men started picking up the bodies and tossing them in the bed. Tim climbed up on the roof of the cab and kept watch with what Alex was pretty sure was Jake's AR.

The men moved quickly. When they finished collecting the bodies along the fence, Jake pulled the truck further down the road so they could collect the rest of them, Tim standing in the back and watching the whole time. Alex had waited back at the dirt road. When she had moved to get in the truck Jake shook his head at her and she had stepped back, letting him pull away without her. She was tempted to just walk back to her truck and go back to the ranch, but she decided to just wait and smoke a cigarette instead.

She leaned back against a tree in the shade. Of course Jake was mad. He saw everything she did as reckless and stupid. Alex honestly didn't feel like it was called for in this case. She'd thought it through, came up with a plan, realized the error of her plan and adjusted it accordingly. She killed all the enemies and managed to not get hurt in the process. She called for backup when she felt she needed help and acting alone would be foolish. Alex didn't think that Jake would react this way if it had been anyone else, but since it was her, he was going to be dismissive of her abilities and accuse her of being reckless, just like he had since this whole thing started. He treated her like a little kid one minute, then was holding her and looking like he was going to kiss her the next. She really had no idea what was going on with him.

Alex's mind wandered back to their moment on the road that morning and instantly she felt her face and neck flush. _Did_ she like Jake like that? How would she know? She knew she cared about him, loved him even. But that was because he was like family, right? Wait, did she feel the same way about him that she felt about her _actual_ family? Alex rolled that thought around in her head for a while, trying to sort out the differences between her feelings for her parents and her feelings for Jake. Her father had treated her like an adult when he was around, but mainly because he was teaching her grown up things. Her mother only treated her like an adult until she did something that her mom disagreed with. Then it was like she was five again. Jake, on the other hand, had always treated her like an adult and an equal, even if he was always getting her out of trouble around the ranch. And then something changed. Jake stopped treating her like an equal and started treating her like a child, but only sometimes. What the hell? She was more confused than when she started thinking about it.

She heard the truck approaching and looked up to see them turn down the road. Jake slowed to a stop in front of her.

"Come on," he said, nodding to the truck.

"I'm good. I'll meet ya there," she replied shortly. She stood and started walking towards her truck. After a moment, Alex heard a truck door open then close, but she forced herself not to look back. She heard the truck accelerate, then it passed her kicking up a cloud of dust. She picked up her pace.

When she reached her truck, Alex tossed her bag in the cab and turned to face Jake, who had silently been following her the whole time. She started to say something, then thought better of it and turned back to the truck, opening the door and getting in. She momentarily considered leaving him to walk back; maybe it would give whatever had crawled up his ass time to crawl back out. But she couldn't put the truck in gear, couldn't be that mean to him no matter how mean he was to her. So she waited until he climbed into the passenger seat next to her before she pulled out and headed back home.

"Alex, stop," Jake said to the floor. They'd been driving in silence for ten minutes. Alex had just turned onto the road that led to their gate and they were almost home, but she pressed on the brake and put the truck in park. She turned and looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

Minutes passed, but Jake didn't say anything and Alex slowly felt her anger start to bubble up. He was being ridiculous. Ordering her around like she didn't know any better, giving her the silent treatment like she was a child. It was just pissing her off more by the second.

Alex let out a huff in irritation, then threw the truck into drive and hit the gas harder than she intended, causing the truck to fishtail on the dirt road. She let off the gas and it straightened out and they rolled up to the gate. Alex put the truck in park and opened her door to get out and open the gate. Normally it would be the passenger's job to open the gate, but Alex wasn't in the mood to let him do anything for her.

She threw the gate open and stormed back to the truck, jumping in and driving through the gate. When she stopped on the other side to close it, Jake opened his door before she could and jumped out, closing the gate for her. Alex watched him in the rearview mirror. After latching the gate he turned back to the truck and paused, Alex watched as his body tensed, like he was preparing himself for a fight. Alex figured that meant with her. She braced herself for his return, but when he got back to the truck he surprised her.

"Gonna meet Billy at tha barn. You can go on an' go," he said to her through the passenger window.

"Fine," she said, pulling away without looking back. Something about him being all pissy with her and then acting like he was the one that was hurt just pissed her off and she needed to get away.

Alex pulled up to the main house and lugged her shit up to the porch. She left the backpack and the AR on the table on the porch while she went in to check on Sally and Kathy. Alex quietly climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to Sally's room. The door was cracked open, Alex peeked her head in, trying not to disturb anyone. Kathy and Sally were both asleep, Sally under the covers and Kathy on top of them, with her arm wrapped protectively around the girl's shoulder. Alex backed out of the room and quietly closed the door.

Alex made her way down to the gun room to retrieve the cleaning kit for the AR. It had been fired a number of times since they pulled them out and she'd failed to clean it. Her father would be disappointed in her, though she thought he might give her a little leeway seeing as they were busy fighting for their lives and all.

Alex took the kit outside to the table and got to work. Her hands had performed this task so many times that she was on autopilot, her fingers knowing how to disassemble and clean the parts without conscious direction from her brain.

Alex's mind wandered. Had they buried Simon already? How was the move going? Were there more teams out there on runs or was everyone back? Alex hadn't even glanced at the barn when she drove in, so intent was she on ignoring everything about Jake Dixon in the moment.

Damn it. Jake. What the fuck was his problem? She was certain that he was having some sort of issue related to the young boy dying. He seemed to have a moment when they saw the walker kids at the school in town and that day out at the Branson's he'd said something about there being a baby. She'd assumed he meant he'd had to kill it. She would have done the same thing, so she didn't see what was so upsetting to him about it. A walker was a walker, baby or adult. It was sad, sure, but leaving them to exist as one of those things was worse than putting them out of their misery. It had to be.

But just because he was upset about kids dying didn't mean he had to treat _her_ like a kid… wait. Maybe that was it. He was worried that she was going to die because he thought she was a kid that had to be protected… but that didn't make any sense if he also acted like he wanted to kiss her… or maybe she had been mistaken and that wasn't what he'd been acting like.

Alex thought back to their encounters that morning. Jake _had_ touched the cut on her cheek twice and then kissed it and her forehead… hmm. Forehead. Maybe she did read it wrong. People kissed their kids on the forehead, not their spouses or whatever.

_Come on Alex, get it together,_ she yelled at herself in her mind. _Get your ass up and go figure out what the hell is going on around here! And feed yourself. Your stomach is growling, stupid._

Alex shook her head to clear it then looked at the table in front of her to find the gun reassembled. She double checked her work before refilling the clip from the ammo in her bag and locking in the clip in place. She collected the cleaning stuff and replaced it in the kit, carrying everything inside and returning it to the gun room before she went to the kitchen to make something to eat. She was craving breakfast, so she set to work making bacon, eggs and toast.

By the time Alex finished eating, it was one o'clock. She figured it was time to get her head out of her ass and stop acting like there wasn't a shitload of work to do. She grabbed her pack and gun and jumped in her truck. She was going to go by the barn and check in before she went back out to look for the damn horses.

When she pulled up to the barn, the first thing Alex noticed was the sheer number of people moving around. They were unloading trucks and sorting things and moving things in and out of the trailers. It was the most people Alex had ever seen at the ranch in her whole life. She located Billy amid the crowd and braved her way through the people, nudging and bumping politely along the way.

"Hey Billy. How's the move goin'? Looks like everyone is making themselves useful," she said with a smile.

"Sure are. I'm actually surprised at how smooth it's gone so far. Haven't had anyone get hurt out on a run and they're comin' back with lots of good shit. We've cleared four ranches further down the road that share a fence line with us an' we got teams out workin' on four more that should be done before supper time. Nice work out there on the road today, by the way. Tim told me they collected thirty four bodies. Not bad, kid," Billy said with a smile.

"Thanks, Billy," Alex said, kicking the dirt with the toe of her boot. "You should tell Jake that, though. He acts like I'm some huge fuck up that can't do anything right," she huffed. "Now he's givin' me the silent treatment like I'm an errant child. I'm just as capable as he is and I'm not some little kid. I'm almost eighteen," she said, thinking that should count for something.

Billy looked uncomfortable. "Look, Alex, all I will say about Jake is that you should go easy on him. He's… well, I think he's doin' the best he can right now. He knows you can take care of yourself, he's told me as much, but he can't help but worry about you."

Billy's attention was directed to a couple of men who had recently arrived with a loaded truck and there was some confusion about where something should go. Alex looked around the crowd for Jake, wondering where he was.

"He went out on a run," Billy said, answering her unasked question as he returned from the truck. "Left about an hour ago, should be back by supper."

"Oh." Alex was surprised he left without telling her. He would be pissed if she did that to him. "Well, I'm gonna head back out and find those damn horses," she said. "Did Jake happen to leave the walkie with you," she asked.

"Tim's got it. You need anything while you're out there just let him know. We'll come find ya," he said. "Also, we got people out along the fences, so don't be alarmed if you run into someone out there."

"Okay. I'm gonna leave my truck down here and walk back to where Jake picked me up this morning. Gonna start there, guess I actually gotta track them since they're being assholes," Alex said.

She said bye to Billy and headed off for the orchards, turning back when she heard footsteps pounding on the ground running towards her. Of course. It was Aaron, with a huge, stupid grin on his face.

"Hey! Wait up," he called to her. She stopped, annoyed that he wasn't getting the hint.

"Where you headed," he asked, breathlessly.

"I'm going to look for my horses," she replied tersely.

"Shouldn't you have some company? You shouldn't be wandering around out there all alone," he said, stepping closer to her. He raised his hand and reached for her cut cheek, in the same manner Jake had that morning. Alex braced herself for what she knew was coming.

"Does it still hurt," Aaron asked, gently touching the stitches.

Alex didn't hesitate. She grabbed Aaron's wrist, twisting it out as she side stepped around him and brought his twisted arm up high behind his back. She kicked him in the back of the knees, bringing him down in the dirt in front of her. When he tried to get out of the hold, she yanked his arm higher, stressing his elbow, wrist and shoulder. If he wasn't careful, she would really do some damage.

"WHAT THE HELL," Aaron screamed at her.

"I fucking told you the next time you put your hands on me without my permission there would be consequences. In fact, I believe I told you that you'd be missing a hand," she spit as she wrenched his hand higher behind him. Aaron let out an anguished yelp.

Billy came running up, having heard Aaron yelling from the barn. He took one look at the scene and let out a little laugh. He saw the look on Alex's face and quickly sobered up, however.

"What's all this about," Billy asked.

"I warned him not to touch me, that if he touched me again without my permission he would lose a hand," Alex spit out through gritted teeth.

"Lemme guess, Aaron here didn't listen," he said through a grin.

"Man, I was just askin' her if she wanted some company and she flipped out," Aaron yelled.

"That's a fuckin' lie and you know it," Alex yelled, jerking his arm up. She could feel the resistance of his tendons and she wanted nothing more than to feel them snap.

"Billy! Make her stop! She's gonna break my arm," Aaron began pleading. There were tears streaming down his flushed face and any dignity he'd had was gone. He wouldn't stop begging Billy to help him.

"Man, I can't make her do anything. I don't _want_ to make her do anything. She warned you, you ignored her. In my book, your hand belongs to her," Billy said.

Alex was glad Billy wasn't going to try to interfere. She didn't want to have to kick his ass too. She wrenched on Aaron's arm one last time then released him, but before he could do anything but moan in relief she pulled her knife and grabbed Aaron in tight choke hold. Bringing her mouth close to his ear, she brought the blade around so he could see it before firmly pressing the blade against his cheek.

"You really want to know how it feels," she whispered in his ear. Aaron didn't move. Billy just stood there watching.

"I'll be happy to leave you with a lovely souvenir, just like mine. Is that what you want," she asked, her voice filled with venom. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU," she yelled in his ear.

"Nnn...nnnooo," he stuttered out. Alex pressed the blade a little harder, just enough to draw a little blood. Aaron's sniveling disgusted her and she pushed him down into the dirt away from her. She wiped the knife on Aaron's pants before resheathing it. She looked at Billy, who nodded to her, then she picked up the pack and rifle she'd dropped and took off after the horses.


	16. Chapter 16 - Day Ten, Part Three

**Day Ten, Part Three**

**Jake's POV**

Jake jumped at the chance to go out on a run. When he parted from Alex at the gate he'd been furious with her. He just needed to get away. Billy had said that a group was about to take off to clear one of the neighboring ranches that they thought might be a little harder to clear. The map Jake had taken indicated an expected population of twelve to fifteen people. Jake knew that the Sullivan's had at least five or six hands living on the property year round and the family was large with at least five children he could remember.

They were hog farmers and Jake was concerned that the pigs would have drawn any walkers in the area; they weren't quiet animals. Jake had thought he should go along since he knew the area better than anyone else, and to be honest, he was looking forward to killing something with his hands.

He thought about that, that he'd been concerned about Alex doing the same thing just a few days ago and now here he was craving the same release. He couldn't believe the world he now found himself in; he was beginning to think that killing was okay. Maybe Alex had just come to the same realization quicker than he had.

Now Jake sat in the back of a pickup with four men and women, variously armed with knives, axes, machetes and silenced guns; another truck followed them with six more people similarly armed. Jake had supplied a few more guns after seeing what the survivor group brought in with them. They had plenty of guns and ammo, having cleaned out the stores in town as well as gathering the stash from the sheriff's station, and they were steadily finding guns in twos and threes on clean out runs. But there were not many silenced weapons, and they had decided that all clearing runs were to be stealthy. They wanted to see what was out there before it saw them, and gun shots could draw the dead, and the living, from miles around.

The Sullivan's place shared a tiny section of fence line with the Lazy H, down past the southern pasture and the Jensen's place. It was a ten minute ride in the truck to the property, and it was clear before they reached the gate that they had their work cut out for them. The front gate had been left open and they could see twenty or so walkers back near the pig pens trying to reach the poor animals that were still alive.

Jake stood in the back of the truck looking at the lay of the place and trying to come up with a plan. He pounded his fist twice on the roof and Brian slowed the truck to a stop while they were still out on the main road and not yet turned down the driveway. Jake jumped out, holding his hand up to indicate for everyone to wait there while he silently ran over to the gate and closed it to keep any of the dead from escaping. With his closer view, Jake was able to count thirty three walkers milling around the weakly squealing pigs in the pens near the back of the property.

Back at the trucks, Jake outlined his plan to everyone.

"Any of ya know how ta fight in formation," he asked the group. About half of the men raised their hands and a couple of the younger women.

"What's yer experience with it," Jake asked them.

He got a few answers of "video games" which caused him to laugh, and the others were either from military or police training. There were a couple of Vietnam vets, and a police academy dropout. Brian was a volunteer firefighter and some of their training about moving in a group was similar to how Jake wanted them to move to fight these walkers. And the kids with the video game experience at least knew what it was supposed to look like and why it works.

Jake quickly explained the concept to everyone, keep your backs to each other, always face out and don't step out of formation, always move together, no gaps in the circle, always know where the person next to you is, and so on. Jake picked two people with good aim and small bodies, Sarah and Brett, to stay back outside the fence and cover everyone with the rifles if needed. They were to move slightly northeast of the gate so they had a clear view of the area near the pig pens where most of the fighting would take place.

When everyone was clear on the plan and the sharpshooters were in place, they quickly moved through the gate. There was a large slaughterhouse between the front gate and the pig pens, and they quietly moved behind it to approach the pens. The wind must have shifted because as soon as the group came around the building, the walker closest to them turned and began ambling their way. Others quickly followed.

"'Ere we go, stay together, quick stab ta tha head an' back in formation," Jake grunted to them as he stabbed his knife into the first walker's eye. He heard the grunts of his group mixed with the groans of the dead and he hoped these people were ready for this. Then he couldn't think about anything other than kicking, stabbing and keeping in formation.

The group of ten stayed in formation, fighting their way through the dead until the last one dropped. The shooters hadn't even had to fire a shot. The group separated to begin making sure all the bodies were finished off, the squish and thunk of knives being inserted into skulls occasionally resonating through the silence of the afternoon.

"Alrigh', there's still four buildings tha' need ta be cleared." Jake waved the shooters over. "I 'spect ta find at least ten more people inside, probly tha house an' tha bunkhouse," he said looking around the group. They all seemed to be okay with what had happened so far.

"Brian, you an' Seth go clear tha slaughterhouse real quick, shouldn't be more n' one or two in there," Jake said. "Max, Ellie, Leon an' Zach take tha barn; me, Scott, Amy an' James'll clear tha bunkhouse. Sarah an' Brett, you keep an eye out, make sure we don't get any walkers out by tha trucks or wanderin' up on us in here. Anyone has any problems, call out an' Sarah or Brett'll come get help. When yer clear, we'll meet up over by tha barn. Everyone got it," he asked the group.

"What about the house," Zach asked.

"We'll save it fer last, probly gonna be tha worst, likely be some kids in there," Jake answered, looking them each in the eye. The group said nothing in response, just moved out to their assignments.

Jake and his group approached the bunkhouse quietly; Jake was pretty sure that there would be some larger walkers there, assuming they were the ranch hands that he had met previously. Jake took a deep breath, gripping his knife tightly. He was ready for whatever was behind the door.

Jake pounded on the door and was immediately rewarded with groans and banging from the inside. He nodded for James and Scott to split up and head towards the back of the building to check the windows and secondary exit. They were back within a minute, indicating the six walkers inside were all pressed against the front door. Jake sent them to enter through the back door after counting to thirty, while he and Amy continued to draw them to the front. Jake cracked the door open and stabbed the walker there in the eye, pulling the door closed briefly before repeating the action. He had managed to get a third one before James and Scott entered through the back. When the walkers turned towards the fresh meat, Jake and Amy burst through the front door, causing the three remaining walkers to split, one heading to the back and two turning back to Jake and Amy.

Jake took out the one in front of him while Amy swung her machete into the second one's head with a loud thunk. Scott handled the last one as James began to check room to room, the others falling in once the main room was deemed clear. They found one other walker in the bathroom which was easily dealt with. The group hurried back outside to meet with everyone else.

As Jake came out the front door he heard someone call his name and turned to see Sarah running towards him.

"Brian and Seth need help with the slaughterhouse," she panted out breathlessly.

"Tell everyone to meet us over there when they've cleared their buildings," Jake said to her as he signaled to the rest of his little group and they went running to the slaughterhouse.

Brian and Seth were waiting outside of the building, which Jake thought was odd. He'd expected them to be overwhelmed and needed help getting out of the building.

"Sarah said ya needed help," Jake said, slowing to a walk. "Thought it was an emergency."

"We needed help, but it ain't an emergency," Seth said with a smile. "There's people livin' in there, looks like a couple of women and kids."

"We scared the shit outta them when we busted into the building, they went and hid themselves in a freezer. Thought we might want to have some women on hand when we try to get them out," Brian said. "No need to scare anyone any more than they already have been."

Jake nodded to them and turned to see the rest of the group coming to join them. He was glad to see that everyone had taken the call seriously and they were running over, not just walking. He waited until everyone was there before he explained the situation.

"Boys say there's a group of women an' children survivors inside. Got scared when Brian an' Seth busted in tha door, went an' barricaded themselves in a freezer," he explained. "I'd like to have the women go in with me and Brian to help show them that we mean no harm."

Everyone nodded and took their places. Zach took over for Sarah on lookout duty with Brett, while Amy, Sarah and Ellie followed Jake and Brian inside. The rest of the group waited patiently, listening for any sign that the group inside needed their help.

Brian showed them to the freezer. Jake could hear talking inside but couldn't make out what they were saying. He nodded to Amy who called out to the people inside.

"Hello? My name is Amy and we just want to help you. We won't hurt you. We've got a safe place if you'd like to come join us," she called out.

"I promise we ain't gonna hurt ya, we jus' came to clear out tha dead ones. If ya want us ta leave ya alone, we'll go," Jake called through the door.

There was a noise, like a chain being dragged from the door, before it cracked open.

"Jake? Jake Dixon, is that you," a familiar woman's voice called out.

"Kara," Jake said, hesitantly.

The freezer door flung open and Jake was instantly engulfed in Kara's arms.

"It is you! I can't tell you how happy I am to see you," she cried as she threw her arms around Jake's neck and brought him in for a kiss.

Jake hesitantly kissed her back, more out of shock than desire. He and Kara had dated off and on for years. She would get tired of him not wanting anything more than just casual dating and occasional sex and break up with him while she went looking for someone that was interested in marrying her. She ultimately would fail in her search and come back to Jake months or even years later, and he would always take her back. It was easier to give in than to resist her, as long as she wasn't trying to get him to marry her. And Jake wouldn't let himself get roped into whatever game she was playing - he was always careful to make sure she didn't get pregnant and trap him in something he wanted nothing to do with.

But he hadn't seen Kara around town in a couple of years. The last time she broke up with him she said she was leaving town for good and that he'd never see her again. He'd been okay with that, not wanting to end up tied to the woman forever. He never loved her, but he liked her well enough. She wasn't crazy or jealous, they always had fun together and he could talk to her, as much as he ever wanted to talk to anyone, at least. But he never loved her. And he never led her on or allowed her to think that he did or that he might someday. He always told her that he just wasn't interested in long term. And she would be okay with it for a while, then she would be done with him and gone again.

Jake pulled away from Kara, creating the space he needed to think clearly. "What're ya doin' here," he asked. "Thought ya got outta town a couple years ago." She squirmed slightly under his gaze before composing herself.

"I did. Was livin' in a trailer out in the sticks with some asshole who knocked me up and refused to marry me. Beat the shit outta me two weeks before all this went down. After I got outta the hospital I came here to stay with Shelly Sullivan, she watched little J.J. while I was recovering," Kara said.

She pulled the freezer door open and signaled for everyone to come out. A woman in her mid-twenties with long blond hair came out carrying a toddler, followed by a boy and a girl.

"This is Shelly and her little sister Mary and little brother Tommy. They're eight and twelve, and this is my little J.J.," she said as she took the child from Shelly's arms, smothering him in kisses and making him laugh.

Jake nodded, then introduced himself, Brian and the women of their group, telling them that the rest of the group was waiting outside. Shelly raised her eyebrows at that.

"Outside? Isn't that dangerous," she asked Jake.

"We cleared tha place first," Jake said nonchalantly, heading for the door. "Come on, we still gotta clear tha house."

"You can't," Shelly said.

"What do ya mean, we can't," Jake said, turning to face Shelly.

"My parents and the rest of my family are in there. You can't… We gotta wait until they get the cure…" her voice trailed off at the end. Jake understood what she was getting at.

"There ain't no cure," Jake said gruffly. "Shit's killed ninety percent of tha people in town. You think they can cure a rottin' body once tha skin's started ta decay? Or when their legs an' necks are broken an' they're still movin, what's tha fix fer that," he asked trying to be kinder to the woman than he felt.

"You can't kill them," Shelly said, raising her voice slightly.

"Ya can't stop me," Jake said rather menacingly. "We came here ta do a job, to protect our people. I ain't gonna let some delusional woman put them at risk," Jake said.

Kara jumped in to defend her friend. "Ya need to back off, Jake. She ain't delusional; she's worried about her family. We locked ourselves in here when things went bad, got separated from the rest of the family when we took the kids outside to look at the pigs and then the monsters came out of nowhere and we ran in here. Every time we tried to get out and back to the house there were more and more of those things. There's a water spigot over there and there was one pig hanging to cure, so we just waited for things to clear up so we could get to the house."

They made their way outside to the main group where the rounds of introductions started again. Jake quickly summarized the conversation they'd had inside about clearing the house and was about to tell them that they were going to do it regardless, when Zach spoke up.

"I thought the same thing when it all started," he said, looking at Shelly. "My brother and I were at home, waiting for our parents to come home from work - dad was a doctor and mom was a nurse at the clinic in town. They never made it. After a day we went into town and found the Jenkins boys and they took us in, taught us what we needed to do to survive and we've been doing it ever since. I saw my mom when we went to clear out the walkers so we could built the barricade in town. She was one of the monsters, blood all over her body, arm hanging at a weird angle while one of her legs dragged behind her, her shin bone sticking out of her leg. If there was a cure, and if it brought her back to life, how is she supposed to live knowing she'd eaten and killed dozens of people," Zach asked Shelly, looking her in the eyes.

J.J. began to fuss in Kara's arms and she quickly moved to silence him, switching him to her other hip and bouncing in place.

"Look, I wish we could take more time ta explain it, but it's gettin' late an' we need ta get finished here an' head back home. Ya gonna let us take care of this or ya gonna fight us," Jake asked her pointedly. He didn't want to, but if he had to he would physically restrain Shelly so they could get this finished and go home. This day had started out long and only gotten longer.

Shelly began sobbing into her hands. "Just go ahead and do it," she cried out before the hysterics began. Kara moved over to comfort her friend, still bouncing the baby on her hip.

Jake didn't waste any time. "Amy an' Seth, you two stay here an' keep an eye on things, the rest of ya, come on, we're gonna clear the house. Any idea how many we should expect in there," Jake asked Shelly and Kara.

"My parents and aunt and uncle, plus four of my younger siblings and three little cousins," Shelly choked out between sobs. "Maybe a couple others… I don't know who ended up in the house and who didn't."

Jake twirled his finger in the air and everyone started walking to the house, checking their weapons on the way. They used the same procedure they had when clearing the bunkhouse; Jake pounded on the door, waited for the walkers to gather up front, then sent people around back to check things out. When they reported back that only five of the walkers had gathered at the front door, Jake was a little disappointed this wouldn't be as easy as the bunkhouse, since it was a two story house with many rooms. Brian had reported seeing movement in one upstairs bedroom, but the curtains were drawn and he could only make out the movement of a shadow in the room. Jake told them to assume there were more bodies, either closed in rooms or so badly damaged that they weren't able move around upright and were crawling or dragging on the ground. He told them to make sure to keep their eyes high and low for trouble, then split them into three groups, one each in the front and back and the third to act as backup once they got into the house and had to clear room to room.

Jake cracked the door open and slid his knife into the eye socket that appeared in the crack. Again, Jake took out three walkers before the team entered through the back door and the last two were dispatched quickly. The group then split into teams of two and began moving to clear the large house. Jake and Brian headed upstairs, finding two small children in the first room they checked. Before Jake could do anything, Brian stepped forward and sunk his blade into each of their temples before moving on to the next room.

They ended up only clearing two rooms, there were so many of their people that the job was done in no time and Jake ended up not having to kill any child walkers. The group removed all the bodies from the house, piling them near the barn like they had previously decided with Billy and Tim. They were going to send out groups to gather all the bodies to bring them to one location for burning, but they hadn't decided where yet.

When Jake and the others returned to the smaller group at the slaughterhouse it was after four. The run had taken them over three hours and Jake was starting to get anxious about leaving the ranch for so long. And he hadn't even told Alex he was leaving. She was probably furious with him for it too. Jake pushed thoughts of Alex away, he couldn't think about her right now, there was still too much to do and he needed to focus.

Jake ushered everyone out to the trucks, leaving Brian to sort out the seating arrangements while he ran back to check on the pig pens. They were in a terrible state, and only two very skinny pigs survived. Jake leaned into the pen and killed the pigs, not wanting to leave them or release them or take them back to the Lazy H. Pigs spread disease so easily, and there was no telling what these pigs had picked up after turning to cannibalism.

With everyone settled back in the truck, Jake hopped in the back with the newcomers, settling in next to Kara and baby J.J.

"So tell me, Jake Dixon, ya ever find love? I mean, we got along pretty good I always thought, but you never wanted me, at least not fer nothin' serious. So didja ever find what'cha were lookin' for," she asked. Jake could see that cunning look in Kara's eyes, just like the old days. He remembered her giving him that look once or twice when he was pretty sure she was trying to get him to marry her or knock her up. Jake never could understand why the broad wanted to get married so badly.

"Don't know what'cher talkin' 'bout," Jake replied. "Never was lookin' fer love, or anythin' else fer that matter." He was regretting choosing to sit in this truck.

"That's a lie, Jake, an' ya know it," she accused. "All those times ya looked at me an' told me ya didn't love me, do ya even know what love is," she asked him.

Jake rolled his eyes. Just like that, they were back to having the same argument they'd had four years ago. He didn't want to play this game with her.

"Look, Kara," Jake said, looking at her face for the first time since sitting down, "I'm not gonna have this conversation again. I got more important thangs ta worry about than figurin' out why I never loved ya. So jus' leave it alone, okay?"

He stood, looking down the road and wishing he'd brought his cigarettes. He couldn't wait to get out of this damn truck. When they finally pulled up to the gate, Jake jumped out and opened the gate, waving the trucks on once they were through. He was just going to walk to the barn and look for Billy and Tim. Shit and Alex. He was going to have to talk to Alex.

By the time he got to the barn, the newcomers were being welcomed by the women and directed to the bunkhouse. Jake was glad that Kara would be distracted for a while so she would leave him alone. It was the worst kind of luck that she was one of the survivors they'd found. He could have easily gone the rest of his life without seeing her, and the trouble that inevitable followed her.

"Well, looks like ya'll found more than you bargained for," Billy laughed, clapping Jake on the shoulder. Billy knew too well who Kara was and what she and Jake had been through in the past. Of course Billy found this hilarious.

"Yeah, that girl's like a bad penny - won't stop turnin' up," Jake laughed. Billy offered him a cigarette which Jake took eagerly.

"So how was the run, other than that," Billy asked.

"Not bad. There's lots of goods that we can use. Had ta put tha rest of tha pigs down, there were only two left alive. Killed at least thirty walkers, no injuries. That team ya put me with was pretty good, followed directions real good, stayed in formation when we went after tha big group. I gotta give it to ya, Billy, these people ya brought in are better than I thought they'd be," Jake said.

"Wish I could say the same for the ones you brought in," Billy teased. Jake just shook his head.

Tim walked up, handing Jake both the walkies.

"What're these fer," Jake asked.

"Alex told me to give them to ya when ya got back," Tim said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Where is she," Jake asked, looking around at the people in the barn area.

"She said something about needing some space, too many people here, needing to breath. Said she'd be back in the morning," Tim said.

"Ya just let her leave," Jake growled.

"Seriously, man, you think we coulda stopped her," Billy laughed. "You know how she is. Hell, she almost took Aaron's arm off this afternoon for touchin' her," Billy laughed loudly at the memory. "She's more dangerous than a rabid boar. I don't think that boy'll ever sleep again."

Jake stood there and inhaled his cigarette deeply, tossing it to the ground and stepping on it when he reached the filter. "So other than that, how'd things go around here today," Jake asked.

Billy and Tim filled him in on the day, taking turns telling the different parts of the story. They had gotten everything from the runs sorted and put away, given everyone jobs, come up with a schedule for the perimeter teams, gotten everyone sorted into living spaces and decided on an order of operations for the projects that needed to be completed. Teams would start harvesting the gardens and orchards the following day and they were going to have several trucks go in to the hardware store tomorrow to get the supplies needed to build a larger smokehouse for their winter meat stores. In short, Billy and Tim had made the place run just fine without either Jake or Alex. Jake wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"How's that little girl, Sally," Jake asked. "Did ya get her brother in tha ground fer me?"

"We did, got him all squared away and talked to Alex, Kathy and Doc a couple hours ago. Kathy said she would take Sally down there after she woke up from her nap if she wanted to go," Billy answered.

"Thought it might be nice to have a little service in the morning, if she wants," Tim said.

"Maybe we should consider runnin' out ta tha Johnson's an' back ta tha Sullivan's tomorrow, get tha kids' stuff so they can have a little bit of home here, what do ya think," Jake asked. He felt terrible that all these kids were suddenly living in a world where monsters were real and their parents couldn't protect them. He didn't understand it and had no idea how a kid could handle it.

"That's a great idea," Billy said. "It'll be good fer them, maybe help them get settled quicker."

"I'll be happy ta head out there with some of tha same people tomorrow," Jake said.

"Sounds good. We'll have to divert some people to the other teams heading into town for building supplies, but six or seven people should be enough, right," Billy asked.

"Yeah, that should be fine," Jake replied.

"You gonna take Alex,"Tim asked.

"She's pretty pissed at me right now. Prob'ly best ta give her some space, last time I saw her she looked like she wanted ta stab me," Jake said seriously.

"Yeah, she was still pretty upset when I talked to her, right before the thing with Aaron. What the hell did you do," Billy asked. "You can't keep treating her like she's a kid, ya know."

"Yeah, I know. She just manages ta push all tha right buttons, ya know? Fuck, she IS a kid. Don't matter how good she is at killing, she's still jus' a kid."

"Look, I'm gonna say this once and then leave it alone. It's obvious there's somethin' goin' on between the two of ya. Don't give me that look. You know it's true. Alex may be seventeen, but she ain't some kid, she's Alex. And seriously, if you're really worried about the age thing, doesn't she have a birthday comin' up pretty soon anyways," Billy said with an exasperated sigh.

"Mmmhmm," was all Jake said.

"If ya keep this up, you're gonna push her away, and then we might all lose her. You've seen that look, she's on the edge, man. She had such hate in her eyes when she looked at Aaron, right before she sliced his cheek open. And the smile she got when she watched him bleed… Don't get me wrong, I like a feisty woman, and I enjoyed watchin' her put that asshole in place. But if she gets pushed too far there may be no way to stop her from embracing the dark side, so to speak, and don't any of us want that," Billy finished.

"She cut him on purpose," Jake asked.

"Yes she did. And she enjoyed it, no mistake," Billy replied seriously. "Ya gonna go after her?"

"Dunno. Maybe later, after dark. She needs some time, I think," Jake said. "I appreciate the talk boys. I'm gonna go check on tha new arrivals an' make sure they got everything they need for tha kids."

Jake put the walkies in his truck then walked over to the bunkhouse. Kara and Shelly were in the main room feeding the kids. Shelly looked a bit more stable, the wild look had gone from her eyes and her siblings seemed to be okay. Kara sat with J.J. in her lap on the floor, spoon feeding him some mashed fruits and veggies. The kid was sucking it down faster than Kara could get it to his mouth. The baby was giggling and Jake couldn't help but smile at him.

"Well I never thought I'd see Jake Dixon smilin' at a baby," Kara chirped at him. "Wanna feed him," she asked.

"Nah. Don't know nothin' 'bout feedin' no baby," Jake drawled. He sat on the arm of the couch furthest from J.J. and Kara.

"He ain't gonna bite, ya know," she teased. "On second thought, he might. He's teething right now."

"Did they get ya all settled in," he asked. "Ya need anythin' fer tha' baby?"

"Norma and Betty got us set up in here. Me an' J.J. are in yer old room," Kara said, "and Shelly, Mary and Tommy are in the room next door. I can't wait to sleep in a real bed again!"

Jake just nodded to her, not having anything to say in response.

"I gotta thank ya, Jake, for bringing us here. I don't know how much longer we could have made it in the awful place. The thought of losing J.J…. I… just thank you," Kara said sincerely. Tears were welling up in her eyes and Jake didn't think he'd ever seen her so vulnerable before. She'd always been so stubborn and calculating. Perhaps motherhood had changed her for the better.

"Wouldn'ta left ya there, even if ya didn't want ta come with us. Tha kids deserve better than this shit," he said as he reached out to pinch J.J.'s cheek. The kid was a mess, squishing cooked carrots out of his mouth and letting it dribble down his chin. Jake thought it was hilarious. Kara handed him a cloth and Jake wiped the mess off of J.J.'s face.

"See, that wasn't so bad, right," she teased. "Here, feed him for me while I go grab some more fruit," she said as she handed J.J. to Jake. She got up and walked away before Jake could argue with her.

Jake moved closer to a more comfortable position on the couch and positioned the baby on his lap so he could feed him. On his first try, J.J. giggled and slapped the spoon, sending the carrots into Jake's lap. Jake frowned, making the baby laugh harder.

"Think that's funny, huh," he said, scowling at the child. J.J. reached out for Jake's nose with a carrot covered hand, Jake dodged at the last second, and J.J. wound up with a fist full of Jake's hair instead. Jake grumbled, then tried to remove J.J.'s fist from his hair, which the kid found hilarious and started screeching and squirming in Jake's lap.

"Looks like you've made a friend," Kara said with a laugh as she sat next to him on the couch. She distracted the toddler with a spoonful of plums and removed his sticky fingers from Jake's hair. She didn't move to take the kid from Jake though.

"He's a handful… good thing he's cute, gonna have all tha ladies wrapped around his little finger with that smile," Jake said.

They sat there, feeding J.J. and talking, catching up on the last few years. Jake gradually became more comfortable with Kara and soon realized that she wasn't the same person he'd known for all those years. She'd changed. The look he'd mistaken earlier for cunning had really been her assessing the situation. She was no longer just some girl trying to find a husband, she was a caring mother who was trying to survive and keep her child alive. Jake feet drawn to the boy, those innocent blue eyes just sucked him in and he couldn't help the protective feeling that came over him.

After an hour, the newcomers were clearly exhausted and ready for bed. J.J. had been climbing back and forth between Kara's lap and Jake's, but at some point he'd fallen asleep in Jake's lap, drooling on his shirt. Kara smiled at the scene before telling Jake that she would take him and put him down.

"I got 'im. Where do ya want 'im," Jake asked as he stood with the child cradled in his arms.

Kara led Jake to his old room and pulled the covers back, pulling them up snug over the child when Jake laid him down. She placed a pillow next to him so he wouldn't roll off the bed, then they walked back to the living room. Shelly and the older children had already headed off to take showers and get ready for bed, leaving Jake and Kara alone in the living room.

"So, Mr. Dixon. Where do you sleep these days? I betcha got a woman round here somewhere, jealous that I'm takin' up all your time," she teased as she scooted closer to him on the couch. This was the Kara that Jake remembered.

"Nah. It was jus' me an' Alex here when thangs turned, I was real sick, she took care of me an' kept me from dyin' of a fever. Some crazy shit went down an' we found Billy an' Tim, decided to bring everyone here an' make a go of it. Ain't got no time fer women, never really have, in case ya fergot," Jake answered.

"Alex! I haven't seen her since we got here. How old is she now, fifteen, sixteen? That girl always was a spitfire," Kara laughed.

"She's almost eighteen, birthday's in a couple a weeks. This's been pretty hard on her, had ta put 'er mom down an' got attacked by a crazy girl that used ta be her friend. Bitch almost killed her, took a bite outta her, was a real mess," Jake said.

"What happened to her, she still here," Kara asked with concern.

"Nah. Alex killed her," he said quietly.

"Oh. Is Alex okay? I can't imagine what that did to her," Kara said.

"She's tough. She'll be okay. Least as okay as any of us these days," he replied. The sun had set a while ago and Jake was starting to get anxious about leaving Alex alone for so long. He really needed to get going.

"I still gotta buncha thangs ta do before I can hit tha hay, so I'm gonna get goin'," Jake said pushing himself up off the couch. "You let Billy or Tim know if ya need anything, they'll take care of ya. I'll come check on ya in tha mornin', okay?"

"Ya sure ya gotta go? You can always come back when you're done. You know where I'll be," she said with a wink.

Jake shook his head at her. "Don't ruin this, Kara. I had a nice time catchin' up, but we ain't goin' back ta how thangs were before. I jus' can't, okay?"

"Okay, Jake, I gotcha. Don't mean I'm gonna stop tryin' though," she said with a grin.

Jake just shook his head and walked out to his truck, lighting a cigarette. Now it was time to go get his ass handed to him by Alex.


	17. Chapter 17 - Day Ten, Part Four

**Day Ten, Part Four**

Alex climbed to the top of the rock pile and sat, enjoying the warmth radiating from the granite beneath her. She had decided against returning to the top of the mountain where her mother's grave was; with the fence patrols there was the chance that she would run into someone and she just wanted to be alone right now.

The pile of rocks she'd chosen was one of her favorites from childhood. Giant slabs of granite sloped together to form a cave of sorts, more than tall enough for her to stand upright and wide enough for about five people to fit in comfortably. When Alex was little, Manny had told her the legend of the stagecoach robbery and the treasure that the robbers had buried somewhere on their mountain.

According to the legend, an outlaw gang held up the stage that ran between the silver mines in Nevada, the gold mines in the Sierra's and Sacramento, where the bounty was then transported by river boat all the way to the banks in San Francisco. The stage line ran through the Lazy H property - part of the old stage road was the road that they now used to drive down to the orchards. The robbers hid out on the mountain for ten days, while rumors circulated through the mining camps that George Hearst had sent the Pinkerton's in to find his stolen ten million in silver and gold. Only one of the robbers came out of the woods on that tenth day, but he carried the secret of the location of the stolen bounty to his grave, which was hastened by the hangman's noose. Dozens of people had searched the mountain since then and come up empty handed, and all that was left was a legend.

Alex had kept this story in the back of her mind throughout her childhood as she explored every nook and cranny of their mountain. She became convinced that there was no way the treasure was there since she never found it. It sure made for an exciting childhood, though, thinking that under every rock she turned over she might find a bag of gold.

Alex thought back on this story as she sat on the rocks, watching the valley before her. She couldn't see the barn from here, but she knew that it was abuzz with activity. She could see the front porch of the main house, but there was no activity. There were no smoke smudges on the horizon, no airplanes overhead, just the quiet sounds of nature - wind in the trees, birds chirping, insects buzzing through the air. Alex just sat there and soaked in the silence.

She thought about Jake, and what Billy had said, that Jake was just having a hard time with things. _Aren't we all_, she thought snarkily. Just the thought of him made her angry all over again. Alex was certain she hadn't misread the signs; he _had_ wanted to kiss her. Ever since the day she found her mom Jake had been touching her more, a hand on her shoulder or the small of her back, holding her and comforting her while she mourned her mom, caressing her cheek, kissing her forehead. Until this afternoon she and Jake had been practically inseparable, even sleeping next to each other more nights than not since it all started. Even though she saw the signs, she didn't know how to read them or what they meant. All she knew was that something had changed between them and she was afraid that it would never be the same again.

Alex heard a rustling in the brush behind her and turned just as some quail came fluttering out. She smiled at the tiny birds and returned to staring out over her home.

The sun was going down, off to her right, painting the sky a brilliant orange red color. _I can almost forget that the world has gone to shit,_ she thought looking out at the sky.

Alex ran her fingers over the cut on her face, her mind drifting back to Jake running his thumb over it. She'd felt such peace and comfort in that moment, like nothing could hurt her. Then she flashed to Aaron touching her in the same way. She was overcome with a feeling of repulsion and all she wanted to do was fight against that feeling. His fingers on her skin had felt like a violation, like she was somehow soiled by his touch. She smiled to herself remembering the feeling of her blade slicing through the skin on his cheek. She had to admit, it had been satisfying to see him bleed, even if it wasn't as much as she would have liked him to.

Alex was startled by her stomach growling. She'd brought a few supplies with her, but she felt like moving and there was a thicket nearby where she'd always found rabbits as a kid. She pulled out one of her throwing knives in preparation as she silently stalked through the trees to her destination.

Though the sun had almost sunk completely below the horizon there was still plenty of light to see by and it was the perfect time of day to hunt rabbits. Alex found a spot to wait and she settled in, knife held near her ear, ready to throw the instant she saw her prey.

Within ten minutes, Alex spied the first of the little brush rabbit family cautiously creep into the open. This one was small and wouldn't provide much meat, not that Alex needed much anyway. She waited though, for the rest of the rabbits that she knew would be making their appearance soon.

After a few more minutes, the perfect sized rabbit came into view and Alex's knife silently spun through the air, landing squarely in the rabbit's head, dropping it in its tracks. The other rabbits froze for a moment, then fled as soon as Alex moved from her hiding spot to collect her meal. She retreated to her cave with her dinner.

Sitting on the rocks, using the last light of the day, Alex quickly skinned and gutted the rabbit, tossing the innards out into the brush. She cut a branch from a nearby tree, sharpened the tip and stuck it through the rabbit, leaving it to rest on the skin while she built her fire inside the cave where its light would be hidden. When the fire was ready, she created a little spit and set the rabbit over the fire, turning it occasionally, enjoying the smell of the fat drippings as they burned.

By the time the meat was cooked it was fully dark out. Alex sat next to the fire, picking rabbit meat off the bones. She had cracked a leg bone and sucked the marrow out, leaving a sharp, finger sized bone that she tossed on the floor, along with remnants of other meals from the caves previous inhabitants - bones of snakes, rats, rabbits and a skull that looked like a possum littered the floor of the cave. She wasn't the first human to use this cave as a shelter either, evidenced by the charred bits of wood and the smoke stains crawling up the rock wall. Alex felt safe here, among the spirits of the past.

She finished half of the rabbit and wrapped the rest in the skin which she had scraped clean, to eat for breakfast in the morning. Alex had always liked rabbit, even cold for breakfast. It was one of her favorite camping meals.

Alex emerged from the cave to relieve herself, then climbed up on the rocks to sit and watch the stars make their circuit around the night sky. An owl cried out from somewhere nearby, followed by a rustling in the brush, probably some critter scared by the owl's call. Crickets chirped and a chorus of frogs could be heard even as far away from the creek as she was. It was a deceivingly beautiful night. Alex lit a cigarette and settled in against the still warm granite, pulling her flannel tighter around her body and staring off into space.

Alex wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard more rustling in the nearby bushes. This time, she didn't turn to the noise, assuming it was just some critter running for its life from something, that is, until she heard the unmistakable sound of heavy human footsteps approaching from behind. Before she could turn, something slammed into her head and she was pulled into unconsciousness.

Alex smelled fire and her head hurt. Those were her first thoughts as consciousness came back to her. She slowly opened her eyes, gradually remembering where she was and what had happened. As her eyes slowly began to focus, she realized that she was in the cave, lying on the bone littered floor and her hands were tied behind her back. She tried to look around without moving too much, sucking in a breath of surprise as her eyes landed on Aaron sitting by _her_ fire and eating _her_ rabbit. His eyes were on her and he had already noticed that she was awake.

"Oh good, you're awake," he said with a cold smile. "I was hoping you would wake up before the festivities began." He tossed the remains of the rabbit behind him into the dark recesses of the cave, then wiped his hands on his jeans. The leer on his face made Alex's stomach turn.

"What are you doing, Aaron," Alex asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. She needed to get him to let down his guard. So she could fucking kill him.

"Now, now, you don't want me to spoil the surprise, do you? Where's the fun in that," he asked, his eyes roaming over Alex's body. Alex rolled over in the dirt to face him; as she did, she felt something small and sharp - the rabbit bone she'd dropped earlier. She palmed it, then turned her eyes to Aaron.

"Indeed, where is the fun in that," she repeated. "Why don't you untie me and we can talk about this," she asked in the sweetest voice she could muster.

Alex knew he wasn't going to, but she needed to buy herself time to try to work her way out of the ropes. Lucky for her, Aaron wasn't a boy scout and had never learned to tie a decent knot. She could feel the bonds loosen with each movement of her wrists.

"You think I'm stupid," he scoffed. "If I untie you you'll just pull some shit like you did earlier and try to get one over on me. No, you stay tied while we have our little party," he said through a horrible grin.

"And you wonder why I never was interested in you? You're a fucking psycho," she shouted. She continued to subtly work at the ropes while she verbally pushed him. She knew he would crack and make a stupid move and she needed to be ready when it happened.

"Shut up you fucking bitch. If you had just gone out with me years ago we wouldn't be here right now, would we? This is your own fucking fault," he growled. He'd taken Alex's guns, hunting knife and throwing knives, but he failed to check her boots where she still had a knife hidden.

Aaron sat there with a smug look of satisfaction on his face as Alex sneered at him, choosing her next words carefully.

"Right. It's my fault you're a fucking psycho rapist who can't get a girl without beating her over the head and tying her up. How caveman of you," she spat.

Her bonds were almost loose enough to get one hand out. She kept her eyes on Aaron as his eyes bulged out of his head; perhaps she had pushed him too far too soon. The vein in the side of his neck was visibly pulsing.

Aaron jumped up and stepped over to her, glaring down at her while gritting his teeth. He kicked her in the ribs, then pulled her up to her feet, dragged her over to a boulder and shoved her down roughly to a sitting position on the rock. Alex grimaced, making it look like it hurt more than it did. She wanted to appear weak, at least for the moment.

"That's better. I never understood why someone let you get away with being so fucking insolent. You should have been put in your place a long time ago," he spat.

"Fuck you," she growled.

Aaron flung his arm out and backhanded her across her cheek, ripping her stitches and tearing the wound open again. It was the reaction she'd wanted. Alex used the excuse of him hitting her to roll herself on her side, off the boulder, keeping her hands out of view. She felt the ropes slacken and freed her hand with the rabbit bone, but kept them behind her back, waiting for him to come to her.

As if on cue, Aaron leaned over her and pulled her up roughly by her shirt, holding her still with one hand while running the other over her breasts. Alex cringed while looking him straight in the eye. For a split second he loosened his grip on her shirt as he moved to get a better grip and that's when Alex pounced.

She swung the hand with the rabbit bone around, impaling it in Aaron's neck, though she missed the jugular. As Aaron's hand flew to his neck, Alex kneed him in the groin and pushed him away from her. Aaron tripped over a rock, stumbled backwards and fell into the fire, Aaron's screams echoed in the cave as Alex reached down into her boot and retrieved her knife. She flipped it open and approached Aaron, who had rolled out of the fire. His clothes were still burning and the smell of burned flesh permeated the air, making Alex nauseous.

Aaron's screams infuriated her. Alex stepped on his burned arm, grinding the melted flesh into the dirt, causing him to howl in pain. She laughed, delighting in his anguish. Alex stomped out the lingering flames on Aaron's clothes before forcing him into a sitting position and straddling his lap. Alex held her knife to his throat, pressing so hard that tiny drops of blood started to seep out.

"This what ya wanted," she asked in her best seductive voice as she ground herself down on his lap. Aaron's cries had become pained moans and gasps but Alex could feel his body reacting beneath her. She continued to grind on him until she could feel his cock truly come to life. It was amazing to her that even in crisis male genitalia didn't know when to quit.

"You... fucking... bitch," he growled out through gritted teeth. "I knew you wanted it. It was all just an innocent act for that fucking redneck asshole."

"You know what I want," Alex purred at him, pushing herself off his lap.

"I don't fucking care what you want," he snarled. Aaron pushed himself off the ground with his burned hands but Alex was ready for him. She sidestepped him and stepped behind him, quickly wrapping her arm around his neck after kicking him in the knees, and Aaron quickly found himself in the same position as earlier that afternoon.

Only this time, Alex didn't stop herself. In one fluid motion she brought the knife around and slit his throat, spraying crimson everywhere. She whispered in his ear, "I just want you to leave me alone," before she released his body and let him drop to the ground with a thud. He laid there for a few moments gurgling and she watched with a smile as the life slowly left his terrified eyes.

Alex dragged the body away from the fire then gathered wood to build the blaze up to ward off the cold that had suddenly filled the cave. Alex knew it wasn't really that cold outside, but she was cold to the bone just the same. She sat and cleaned her knife while staring at the flames. When it was wiped down she thrust it into the fire and held it there until the tip glowed a dull orange, then brought the blade to her shoulder and added a new line to her tally.

"Al! Hey, Al," Jake said while gently shaking her non-bleeding shoulder.

Alex's eyes suddenly snapped into focus and she realized that Jake was talking to her. "Huh? Jake? What are you doing here," she asked confusedly.

"Came lookin' fer ya, heard tha yellin'," he said shortly, but not unkindly. "What happened? Are ya okay?" He squatted in front of her and looked her over, gently touching her face to look at her cheek and neck, then briefly glancing at her cut marks on her shoulder. Nothing looked dire, but her cheek was still bleeding pretty steadily. He pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and pressed it to the cut. Alex winced, but kept eye contact with him the whole time. That was a good sign.

"I'm okay," she said. She put her hand to her face to take the kerchief from him placing her hand on his. "I can hold this," she said.

Jake slowly removed his hand and checked her over again. "Anythin' else hurt," he asked, offering her his hand to pull her to her feet. She grimaced as she stood up. "What is it," he asked with concern.

"My ribs. Asshole kicked me pretty hard when I was tied up on the ground," she said. Jake bristled at her words, then reached for the hem of her shirt. When he hesitated, Alex nodded her assent and raised her arm while Jake lifted her shirt. Bruises had already started to form. Jake could tell they were going to be ugly and would likely cover most of her side. He let her shirt fall and pulled her to his chest, holding her in the tightest hug he thought she could handle. Alex didn't resist and wrapped her arms around him, letting herself be comforted by his presence.

She wasn't sure how long they stood there like that. Alex's senses were caught up in all things Jake - his smell, the way his back muscles felt through his shirt, the sounds of his breathing and his heart pounding in his chest. It was all consuming and completely soothing at the same time. When Alex finally pulled her head away from his chest, she was startled to find Jake staring down at her. His blue eyes seemed to burn into her and she caught herself looking at his lips. They were right back where they'd found themselves that morning. Something in Alex made her speak before she was really aware of what she was saying.

"What is this," she asked him before breaking eye contact. She was suddenly nervous.

He remained quiet for a moment but she could still feel his eyes on her. "What'dya mean," he asked, pulling away.

Alex didn't want him to pull away, but she thought maybe that was part of his answer. She needed real answers though. She sighed.

"I don't know what is happening with us, Jake. Everything has been crazy and hectic, but we keep having these moments, like this, and I think you want one thing but then something changes and suddenly you're cold and distant. It's like ever since I got hurt you look at me different and I don't understand it. I don't understand what I did wrong."

This time Alex moved to put space between them, but Jake grabbed her gently by the hands and wouldn't let her pull away.

"Ya didn't do nothin' wrong, okay? What tha hell makes ya think that," he asked.

"I don't know, it just seems like you're mad about something, and I can only figure it's me since it only seems to be aimed at me. You seem okay with Billy and everyone else," she answered.

"It ain't yer fault," he said, staring at the ground. "I dunno… I jus' find thangs gettin' confused when it comes to ya. Keep havin' thoughts that ain't appropriate," he mumbled to his feet.

Alex felt a smile creep across her face. His answer at least verified that she wasn't crazy; he _had_ wanted to kiss her. "Is that what happened this morning when you pulled me into bed with you," she asked with a small smile.

Jake's ears turned bright red. He remembered the dream he'd been having right before Alex woke him up. They'd made love and he was wrapped around her as they slept. He woke to find she'd gotten up and was shaking him to get him out of bed, but it was too early. Jake told her to come back to bed and pulled her down to him, snuggling into her warmth against his back.

He thought it was all in his dream. Apparently not.

Alex could see that her remark had made him uneasy, and that hadn't been her intention. She was honestly just looking for answers to help her make sense of things. She felt him trying to pull his hands away from hers but she held tight and kept her eyes locked on his. "I didn't mean to freak you out," she smiled. "I was just wondering."

"Do I even wanna know what I said," he asked sheepishly.

"You told me it was too early to get up and to come back to bed, then you pulled me down next to you," she breathed out. Alex could feel her cheeks flush just from saying the words out loud.

At that, Jake pulled his hands away from her and took several steps back.

"See, that right there is what I'm talking about," Alex charged. "Why are you pulling away from me like I'm diseased?"

"Don't ya get it, Al? I'm an old man. I shouldn't be lookin' at ya like that. Shouldn't be thinkin' 'bout ya like that. Jesus, yer jus' a kid," he said, flustered.

Alex couldn't help but laugh, making Jake scowl at her, which made her laugh even harder. Jake turned and started to leave the cave.

"Jake! Come on, don't do that. I'm sorry for laughing. It's just, hearing you call yourself an old man is the silliest thing I ever heard," she said. "You're not an old man. And I'm not a kid," she said pointedly.

Alex stepped back into Jake's space, unwilling to let him escape from this conversation. Now that she had a better understanding of what he was thinking, the whole thing was starting to make more sense. He was just as scared as she was. The thought made her smile.

Jake was clearly nervous with her in his space. She tried to think of the right thing to say to make him relax. Maybe she should just be honest with him. At this point, it wasn't like she had anything to lose.

"Do you remember the conversation we had the other day, about your last name?"

Jake nodded.

"Remember what I said when you asked me if I was serious," she asked.

He nodded again, slowly. "Ya said ya been thinkin' 'bout it since I met ya," he replied.

"Mmmhmm," she said, nodding at him. "Maybe I didn't know what it meant to be a Dixon then, but I have a better idea now. It used to be just a schoolgirl crush, but it doesn't feel like that anymore. It's bigger than that…" Her voice trailed off, uncertain of how to finish the sentence. She stood there, unsure of herself and awkward, not knowing what to do with her hands so fiddled with the bloody handkerchief she'd forgotten was supposed to be pressed to her cheek.

Jake smiled as her words sunk in. She was telling him that she felt the same way as he did. That was good, right? He shook his head. No, it wasn't good. She was still only seventeen. The smile slid from his face.

"That don't change nothin'," he grunted. "Yer still too young an' I'm too old. It ain't right. What would yer parents say," he asked her.

"I would think they'd be happy that I was still alive. They would know that I was safe with you and that I would be taken care of, and in this world that's all that matters. Daddy always said he knew I was in good hands with you, you know that," she replied.

"I don't think he meant it like that, Al," Jake answered.

"Would it change things if I was eighteen," she asked.

"Dunno. Maybe." He was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation again.

"How 'bout we table the discussion until after my birthday," she suggested. Alex wasn't sure where this forwardness was coming from, but it seemed to be working and she wasn't going to back down now. She'd finally started to figure things out and all the signs she'd seen were making sense now.

"It's only a couple weeks away… if we survive that long," she said honestly. It wasn't that she thought they were going to die, but it was clear that life was much shorter and more dangerous than it had been previously and she couldn't ignore that fact. After what had happened with Aaron, it was clear that the end could come at any time, from anywhere.

Jake reached out and pulled her to him, his hands gripping her hips tightly. "Don't say that. Yer gonna make it," he said, his face dangerously close to hers. Alex felt the air leave her lungs as she looked in his eyes. She tentatively brought her hands up to his chest, dropping the kerchief, then continued to slide them up to his neck, loosely lacing her fingers together behind his neck. Jake sucked his breath in at her touch and Alex felt his fingers grip her hips harder. She would probably have bruises there tomorrow.

"There's no guarantees anymore Jake. Civilization's been sent back to square one. I could die from an infected hangnail… We can't hesitate; hesitation could kill us, right? Isn't that how things work now," she asked him. Alex boldly slipped one of her hands into his hair, running her fingers through his long strands, sending shivers down Jake's spine.

Jake nodded. His head was swimming. She was so close, all he could smell was her, all he could see was her pink lips, so close to his. He was going to hell, if he wasn't there already. Jake leaned in slightly, barely brushing her lips with his, mixing their breath, and waiting for a response from her. He almost wished she would pull away. Alex pushed her body against his and Jake was about to give in and press his lips to hers when groaning sounds behind them brought Jake back to reality.

He grabbed Alex and pushed her behind him without even thinking. Aaron had reanimated and was struggling to bring himself to his feet. Jake quickly stepped across the cave and slipped his knife into one of Aaron's milky eyes, ending his brief second life.

"Wanna tell me what happened," Jake asked. "I know it ain't good. Billy told me what happened earlier at tha barn. He followed ya an' attacked when ya weren't lookin', right?"

"I guess so. I came up here around four or so, sat around for a while thinking, then went rabbit huntin. After I killed it and cooked it, he whacked me over the head. Musta been watchin' me for hours. It's weird, I never felt like someone was watchin' me, surprised he was able to sneak up on me," Alex said.

"Did he say anythin' ta ya," Jake asked, keeping a close eye on her response.

Alex explained everything she could remember that Aaron had said to her. When she got to the part about him leaving her tied up for their "little party" as he had called it, Jake became enraged and kicked Aaron's body several times.

"I fucking knew that asshole was no good," Jake barked out as he paced the cave. He wasn't saying I told you so; he was just angry that he'd been right and needed to vent that anger somehow.

"I honestly didn't think he'd do something like this," Alex said quietly from where she stood. "Zach's gonna hate me now."

That seemed to calm Jake down a bit. "Dunno. Don't seem like they're too close. Hopefully he understands. But we gotta get back down ta tha barn, let Billy an' Zach know what happened," he said thoughtfully.

"How're we gonna carry the body," she asked.

"We ain't. Gonna leave 'im here an' go get tha truck. Me an' tha boys can deal with 'im while Doc takes a look at ya," he said.

He was waiting for Alex to fight him on that, but she just nodded and moved around the cave, gathering her things and putting the fire out. When she was finished she joined Jake at the mouth of the cave. He cautiously reached down for her hand, releasing the breath he'd been holding when she laced her fingers through his and smiled at him in the dim moonlight.

The walk back to the barn was silent and uneventful. When they neared the barn they could see the lights were on and hear lots of voices. _This will be fun,_ Alex thought. She gripped Jake's hand a little tighter and he returned the gesture.

When they arrived, Billy and Tim were talking to a dozen or so people about what their jobs would be for the next few days. Until they really got a feel for everyone, the plan was to cycle everyone through the job roster until everyone found a good fit. Some people were easier than others, but there was enough work to be done that eventually they would find something for everyone.

When he saw them approaching, Billy gave them a smile. When he saw Alex's face, however, his smile fell and he nodded to them quickly, indicating he would be right with them. Billy quickly finished up and dismissed the group.

"What the hell happened to you? You okay" Billy asked Alex.

"Yeah, I'm fine I guess. Just bumps and bruises. I killed Aaron." Alex had forced out the disjointed statements while looking at the ground and the dirt she was kicking at with the toe of her boot.

Before anyone could say anything, Jake jumped in. "Anyone know where Doc is? Wanna get 'er checked out."

"I think he just went up to the main house to check on Sally. Kathy said she's been asleep since ya'll left this morning," Tim said.

"Gonna take 'er up there then come back 'ere," Jake said. "I'll explain everythin' on tha way ta get tha body. An' someone should find Zach, he should come with us."

Tim nodded and went off to look for Zach. Jake walked Alex to the house, got her set up with Doc and told her not to leave, he'd come straight back to the house once they'd finished dealing with Aaron. Alex simply nodded and smiled at him, the later action causing a sudden eruption of butterfiles in Jake's stomach. He kissed her on the head and went back to the boys.

"What's goin' on? What happened to my brother," Zach asked as Jake approached the boys gathered around his truck.

"Beat Alex up, tried ta rape 'er. She ended up killin' him fer his trouble," Jake said succinctly. He hoped the kid wouldn't need any more explanation than that.

"I thought he was actin' funny earlier. Heard him muttering somethin' about how no one understood and that he wasn't going to be embarrassed like that… didn't say anything when I asked him what was going on. Said he just had something to take care of. I didn't think anything of it, it was just Aaron being Aaron. He's always muttering shit about how people have wronged him or something. I just ignore it, he's never been one to do anything other than talk. I'm sorry, I should have said something about it when it happened this afternoon," Zach explained.

"Ya couldn'tve known he'd do somethin' like this. Ya said yerself he never acted on anything before," Jake offered. He really didn't have anything against Zach and kinda felt bad for the kid. Being saddled with an errant brother was something that Jake had experience with. He'd watched his cousin Daryl try to keep his brother Merle out of trouble for years, not that it usually did any good. Last Jake had heard Merle was back in jail, but that was a couple years ago.

"Ya wanna come with us ta collect his body," Jake asked. Zach shrugged his shoulders and said sure, then climbed in the back of the pickup. Billy joined Jake in the cab. Tim was going to stay behind and make sure everything was squared away for the night.

At the cave, Jake showed Billy and Zach the scene, explaining what Alex had told him about how things went down. The rope was on the ground where it had fallen from Alex's wrist when Jake checked her over and the rabbit bone was still sticking out of Aaron's neck, having been impaled almost an inch deep. They shone their flashlights around the cave, Jake making sure that the scene matched up with what Alex had told him. He hadn't doubted her word, but he wanted to make sure that there was no room for questioning her about her motives. He didn't want people thinking that Alex had lured Aaron out and killed him based on their interaction earlier in the day. When no one had any further questions, they carried the body out to the truck and placed it in the bed, returning to the barn.

"What are we gonna do with his body," Zach asked when they got out of the truck.

"Bury 'im, I guess. Suppose we should find a spot fer a cemetery. Prolly not tha only person that'll die here," Jake said morosely.

"I don't want to bury him," Zach said suddenly, drawing the eyes of both Billy and Jake. Zach shifted from foot to foot with their attention directed at him. "I mean, it doesn't seem right to bury him here, at Alex's home. I think we should just add him to one of the walker burns. He might have been my brother, but I rarely agreed with him and I barely liked him most of the time."

Jake was surprised, but in a good way. He had expected some sort of fight or argument about his brother being killed, not easy acceptance and empathy about what this had done to Alex. Jake was genuinely pleased that Zach was with them.

Jake and Billy started talking about how to dispose of all the corpses they'd piled up with the plan of burning them. Now that they were more aware of just how many bodies needed to be burned, Jake had some doubts.

"Seems like we're wastin' a lot of fuel an' suppiles ta burn all tha bodies. Takes a lot of man power ta keep tha fires hot 'nough ta burn, not ta mention tha smell. Plus tha smoke is basically tellin' people where they can find survivors, which is bad if they're like tha guys with tha map. Maybe there's another way," Jake suggested.

"Hey, Billy," Zach said, "What happened to those tractors we were using for the barricades?"

"Still out behind the hardware store, I guess," Billy responded.

"What if we brought the tractors here and dug some pits to dump them in," Zach asked.

"That's a real good idea," Jake said. "Then we'll have tha tractors here an' we can use 'em for building other defenses."

"Fuel could be a problem," Billy said. "They were runnin' low by the time we finished with the barricades. We can probably find some scavenging around the ranches with heavy equipment," Billy said.

"We got half a dozen drums each of diesel, gas an' oil," Jake said. "Didn't ya see tha pumping station out back?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know if that was a relic left over from thirty years ago or somethin' ya still use," Billy said with a grin.

"Well, that takes care of that problem," Zach said. "Can we just drive them back here or do they need to go on a truck?"

"Probably best if we put 'em on tha truck, waste less fuel, an' easier ta get down tha dirt road. There a trailer big enough fer it at tha hardware store," Jake asked.

"Yeah. We had to pull it off the trailer to use it in the first place. Everything should be right where we left it." Billy said.

They made plans for who would go into town to bring the tractor back, deciding that Billy, Zach, Brian and John would go deal with that first thing in the morning. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long and they would be back before everyone started moving out for the day. With plans made, Jake left them to return to the house and check on Alex.

"This is gonna hurt, try to hold still," Doc said as he cleaned out the gash in Alex's cheek. It had finally stopped bleeding but there was some debris left in it that wouldn't be moved by gentle coaxing. Alex gritted her teeth and did her best not to move while Doc dug around.

"Who did that to you," Sally asked from across the room. The girl had only just woken up and was sleepily making her way to a chair at the dining room table where Doc and Alex were sitting.

When Doc pulled away for a moment while he grabbed a clean piece of gauze Alex replied, "Got cut by a girl that was tryin' to kill me."

"But you had that this morning and it wasn't bleeding. It looked better. Why's it worse now," Sally pushed.

Alex clenched her jaw as Doc dug one last piece of crap out of the cut. She wasn't sure what she should tell the girl. Was she old enough to understand what had happened? Kathy had taken a much needed break when Doc had come back, so Alex was on her own dealing with this.

"Well, I got attacked by someone else that was trying to hurt me," Alex said, hoping that would be enough information for Sally.

"One of the monsters," she asked.

_Yes, _Alex thought. "No, not one of the monsters. A man did this to me. He wanted something I wouldn't give to him, so he tried to take it from me."

"Someone here," Sally asked, worry etched across her young face.

"Not anymore," Alex replied.

"Good," Sally said. When Alex looked at her questioningly, Sally added, "I don't want anyone here that would hurt you."

"You don't have to worry about me, kid. I do a pretty good job of taking care of myself. I learned from the best," Alex said with a wink.

Sally sat there while Doc spread the salve over Alex's cut and looked at her ribs. They were tender to the touch, in fact it hurt when she breathed, but Doc was pretty sure that there wasn't anything broken.

"If you stayed in bed for a couple weeks, you'd heal faster, but I know you won't, so you're probably looking at four to six weeks until things heal up, assuming you don't get hurt further in the meantime," Doc said with a smile. "How's the pain? Having trouble breathing," he asked.

Alex wanted to say no, but decided against it and told him the truth. "Yeah, it hurts when I breathe," she nodded.

Doc gave her some Advil, with instructions to take it regularly, even if she wasn't in pain. The trick was to keep ahead of the pain by sticking to a dosage schedule, not letting the pain get bad and then taking something for it. Alex swallowed the pills with a glass of water that Sally had brought her and was just trying to figure out what to do next when Jake came in.

"How's our patient, Doc," Jake asked with his eyes on Alex.

"She's fine. Bruised ribs, pulled some of the stitches out that busted. No reason to put new ones in at this point. Seems to be healing fine on it's own," Doc recited. "Told her to take Advil every four hours and try to take it easy, but you know Alex, she won't listen but I gotta tell her anyway."

"Hello! I'm sitting right here, don't talk about me like I'm not," Alex huffed.

Jake came over to her and rested his hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. "Got everythin' all taken care of. Nothin' fer ya ta worry 'bout," he said as he sat down in the chair next to Alex. He moved his hand from her shoulder to her thigh where she was resting her hand. She immediately laced her fingers through his.

"I'm gonna call it a night if you don't need me for anything else," Doc said.

"Sure thing. Thanks,Doc. If ya see Kathy, will ya tell her we can take care of Sally fer tha night," Jake said, shaking the man's hand.

"No problem. I'll see you two bright and early - I hear we're having a big pancake breakfast," Doc said on his way out the door.

"I like pancakes," Sally said. "Do I get pancakes too?"

"Of course," Alex said. "There'll be enough for everyone. How are you feeling? Are you hungry?"

Sally nodded her head.

"What about you, Jake? You hungry," she asked him squeezing his hand in her lap.

"Yeah, I missed dinner lookin' fer ya," Jake said with a smile.

"Let's see what we can do about that," Alex said to them.

After a quick meal of leftover spaghetti Alex sat with Sally on the couch while Jake cleaned up the dishes.

"So I'm staying here with you guys," Sally asked.

"I guess so," Alex said. They hadn't even had a chance to figure out what to do with the girl, who would be responsible for her, where she would sleep, nothing. "Do you want to stay here with us," Alex asked her.

Sally nodded her head.

"Well, that settles it then," Alex said with a smile.

"That settles what," Jake asked as he entered the room.

"Sally's stayin' here with us," Alex replied.

Jake suddenly remembered that there were other children that had been brought in today around Sally's age. _Shit. I forgot about Kara,_ he thought.

"I got no problem with that, but ain't no one gonna be here fer her durin' tha day. Sally, do you know tha Sullivan kids, Mary an' Tommy," he asked.

Sally nodded enthusiastically. "They live just down the road from us. Me and Simon used to play with them after school sometimes. Walked home from the bus stop with them most days."

Jake explained to both Sally and Alex what had happened out on his run that afternoon and that Mary and Tommy were both there as well as Kara and J.J.

"Can I go see them," Sally asked.

"They were goin' ta bed when I saw them a couple hours ago. How 'bout I take ya down there first thing in tha mornin'," Jake asked.

Sally nodded enthusiastically.

"Alrigh'. How 'bout you go get ready fer bed," Jake said to Sally. "She all set up in tha' other guest room," Jake asked Alex.

"Yep. I'll take her up there and get her settled in," she said to him.

After getting Sally's teeth brushed, Alex tucked her back into the bed she'd spent most of the day in. As soon as she was settled, Sally's eyes began to droop.

"You gonna be okay in here by yourself," Alex asked her. "Jake and I are right down the hall."

"Is he your boyfriend," Sally asked through saggy eyelids.

Alex was caught off guard by the question and she could feel her cheeks flush. "No, why do you ask that?"

"Cuz he looks at you like my daddy used to look at my momma and he's always touchin' your back like Daddy did too," she said sleepily.

_This girl doesn't miss anything_, Alex thought. "He's just my…," Alex paused looking for the right word. "Just Jake," she finished lamely.

"Just your Jake?" Sally asked. "I hope I have a Jake someday," she breathed out as she drifted off to sleep.

_Yeah, me too, kid,_ Alex thought.

Jake was sitting out on the porch smoking when Alex got back downstairs. She joined him, lighting up a smoke of her own, even though it hurt to inhale.

"Been a long day; what's the plan for tomorrow," she asked.

"Billy's gonna take some guys an' bring tha big tractor back so we can use it ta dig pits fer tha dead. Decided it's too dangerous an' too wasteful too burn 'em all," Jake said.

"Why don't we just use the tractors we got here," Alex asked.

"Could, but this one'll do twice tha work in tha same amount of time an' we can leave it at tha site an' use our tractors fer tha work 'round here," Jake answered. "Got more runs planned, gonna go back ta tha Sullivan's and Johnson's an' clear those houses out first, bring back all tha toys an' clothes fer tha kids so they've got their own thangs."

Alex nodded. "So, Kara had a kid, huh? You think it's yours," she asked cautiously.

Jake winced at the question. The thought had crossed his mind for a moment, but he hadn't been with Kara for at least a year before the kid was born, so no way it was his. But he was surprised that Alex had asked the question.

He shook his head. "Nah, didn't see her fer at least a year 'fore tha kid was born, so it ain't mine. Why would'ja ask that?"

"I just remember how she was always sayin' she wanted to have a baby with you," Alex said.

Jake's ears flushed. "She said that to ya?"

"Mmmhmm. Used to tell me that she was gonna marry ya someday an' have your babies," Alex said with a grin.

"Stop. Seriously?" he asked.

"Yep. Always acted like we were friends or something. I just thought she was annoying, getting in the way of us going huntin' or something," Alex said. "So now that she's back…" Alex's voice trailed off, not really sure what she was asking.

Jake knew what she was getting at though. "Now that she's back, what? Am I gonna date her or somethin'?"

Alex nodded.

Jake moved from his chair to the bench Alex was sitting on, turning to face her. "I already told her that I ain't interested in anythin' like tha', that thangs have changed fer me," he said as he tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. "Got more important thangs ta worry 'bout than that crazy chick," he said as he smiled at her.

"We should probably try to get some sleep," Alex said to him. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat." Jake cringed at her choice of words.

"Alrigh', let's get ya ta bed," he said, taking her hand and leading her inside and upstairs. When they reached her bedroom, Jake gave her hand a squeeze and said goodnight before turning to walk to his own room.

"Hey, Jake," she Alex said quietly.

"Yeah, Al?"

"Would you mind staying with me? I mean, if you don't want to, it's okay, I just… I dunno… never mind, it's nothin'," she said nervously, turning back to her room.

"It's not nothin' Al, an' I don't mind. You shouldn't be alone, not after what happened today," he said. "I jus' thought ya might wanna be alone, since that's usually what ya do when somethin' bad happens."

"Not this time," Alex said, shaking her head. "You sure it's okay? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Don't worry 'bout me, I'll feel better knownin' yer right here anyway," he said with a smile.


	18. Chapter 18 - Day Eleven, Part One

**Chapter 18**

**Day 11 Part One**

It seemed like Alex had only closed her eyes for a moment before she was being awakened by the first light of the morning sun pouring through her bedroom window. Her entire body was stiff and sore and she didn't want to get out of bed. Especially when she felt Jake's arms wrapped around her, protecting her in her sleep. They'd both changed into their pajamas and slept fully clothed under the covers. It hadn't taken long for Alex to drift off to sleep, the last thing she remembered was Jake gently running his fingers through her hair and his smell filling her nostrils.

She didn't want to move, didn't want to wake him and start the day. She looked over at the clock, it was barely six. As she was trying to decide what to do - be responsible or be comfortable - there was a soft knock on the door and it slowly opened a crack. Sally peeked her head through. Alex waived her over to the bed, pulling the covers back for Sally to climb in.

"Mornin'," Alex whispered to her as she got settled. "You okay?"

Sally nodded.

"You ready for some pancakes," Alex asked.

Sally shook her head. "I wanna go see Mary and Tommy," Sally whispered.

"It's pretty early, but we can go see if they're up," Alex agreed.

"Should we wake up your Jake," Sally asked.

Alex couldn't help but smile. "I wish we didn't have to, but he's got a lot planned today. I think he's gonna go back to your house and bring back your clothes and toys and stuff. Does that sound good?"

Sally nodded excitedly. "Is he gonna bring Mary and Tommy's stuff too," she whispered.

"Yep. Why don't you go get dressed, Miss Kathy washed your clothes, right," Alex asked.

"Mmmhmm," she said as she flung the covers back and ran out of the room.

Alex laughed, then rolled over to face Jake, surprised when she found herself staring into his dark blue eyes. He'd been awake and listening the whole time.

"So I'm your Jake, eh," he asked with a broad grin.

Alex flushed. "Sally asked me if you were my boyfriend and when I tried to answer her, all I could come up with was you were my… Jake," she said, embarrassed.

Jake's ears turned a little pink as well. "'S'okay with me. Better than jus' bein' plain ol' Jake," he teased. "So, does that make ya MY Alex," he asked with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Guess so," she said. They laid there and stared at one another for a moment before Sally came bursting into the room.

"Aren't you ready to go yet," she whined.

"It'll jus' take a minute, hold yer horses, half pint," Jake said to the girl as he got out of bed and ambled to his room to get dressed. He ruffled Sally's hair as he passed her on his way out the door, closing it behind him.

Alex changed while Sally waited. When Alex pulled her shirt off with her back to Sally, the girl hissed with a sharp intake of breath, causing Alex to turn around to see what was wrong.

"What happened to your back and side," Sally asked with a shocked look on her face.

Alex turned to the full length mirror on the opposite wall and blanched when she saw how bad the bruises were across her ribs. _It looks about as bad as it feels_, she thought.

"That man I told you about last night, the one that wanted to take something from me, he did this," she explained.

"And the cuts, too," she asked.

"No, those were from the crazy girl that tried to kill me," Alex clarified. She was probably scaring the shit out of the kid, making her think everyone was out to attack them. _Well, that's not totally off base,_ she thought. Alex wanted Sally to know how dangerous things were out there, and not just because of the monsters.

"Did you have to kill her," Sally asked quietly.

Alex put a clean shirt on and pulled out a clean pair of jeans. "Yes, I killed her," she answered.

"And you killed the man too," Sally asked.

Alex pulled on her jeans. "Yes, I killed him too," she responded, turning to watch the girl's face.

"Does it make the hurt better," Sally asked in a small voice.

Alex was surprised at the depth of the question. Did it make the hurt any less? "I dunno. Haven't really thought about, I guess. Things happened so fast out there, I guess I didn't have time to dwell on the pain, and now that it's over with I have to ignore the pain and keep moving so I can take care of the people here, like you. I been hurt a lot, falling off horses and rocks, growing up out here I've had a lot of accidents. I guess I've just gotten good at ignoring it. I thought that killing the man that hurt me would make me feel better, and maybe it did for a little while. But now it's just something I gotta carry around with me. Do you understand what I mean," Alex asked the girl.

Sally shook her head.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," Alex said, strapping on her various holsters and weapons. Sally's eyes were watching every move Alex made, but she seemed to be taken with the throwing knives.

"You ever throw one of these," Alex asked her, pulling a knife from the holster and handing it to Sally. "Be careful, they're really sharp."

"Never touched a knife that wasn't for eating," Sally told her while she inspected the blade.

"I can teach ya, if you want," Alex said, taking the blade when Sally offered it to her and slipping it back into the holster. "It's important for everyone to know how to use weapons now, even you. Don't you think?"

Sally nodded her head vigorously.

"Good. Now, let's go see if your friends are up," Alex said with a smile. They found Jake in the living room with all his gear, waiting for them.

"Took ya long enough," he grumbled, winking at Sally. She smiled at him and ran to the front door, bouncing on the balls of her feet while she waited for them to join her. "Well, go on then," Jake said to her as he opened the door. "Ya know where yer goin'?"

She nodded yes and took off running down the stairs and down the road to the bunkhouse. She was out of sight before Jake and Alex had even reached the bottom of the stairs to the porch.

"She's a smart one," Alex said. "She asked me if I killed the people that hurt me and if killing them made the 'hurt better'," Alex said.

"Shit. What'd ya tell 'er," Jake asked, rubbing his chin.

"The truth. That I did kill them but that I wasn't sure if it made the hurt better; that things happen so fast out there you don't have time to think about the pain, you just have to ignore it and keep moving. I tried to explain to her that even if it did make me feel better in the moment, it's now just a weight that I have to carry with me always, but she didn't understand that," Alex said.

Jake nodded.

"She also seems interested in my throwing knives. Told her I'd teach her to use them if she was interested. She should know how to defend herself," Alex added.

Jake was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, she should know how ta use a knife, how ta protect herself. 'Spose ya wanna be tha one ta train 'er," Jake asked.

"Well, I was thinkin' that. But there's so much to do, it'll probably have to wait a while. We'll have all winter to practice when we can't go outside to do anything else," Alex said.

They had arrived at the bunkhouse, which was already busy with activity. Norma and Betty were already starting on pancakes and eggs for everyone, making good use of the bunkhouse's kitchen. Tim was planning out the days runs; Billy and his team had already left for town and more teams were getting ready to leave.

"Mornin' you two," Tim called. "What's on the agenda for today? You still gonna run out to the Johnson's and the Sullivan's today?"

"Yep. That's tha plan. Anyone from my team yesterday available," Jake asked.

"Ellie, Seth, Amy and James haven't been teamed up yet, Billy told me to wait on setting them up until you picked your team. You goin' too," he asked Alex.

"I think I gotta sit this one out, Tim," Alex said, to both of their surprises. "What," she exclaimed when she saw the looks on their faces. "I can barely lift my arm, meaning I can't lift much and I can't defend myself and that makes me a liability. There's plenty I can do around here," she finished.

"Thought I was gonna have ta lock ya up ta keep ya here today," Jake joked.

"Not this time," she quipped with a laugh, followed by a wince at the jolt to her ribs.

"Well, why don't you two go get fed, I'll round up your team and make sure they're ready when you are," Tim said.

Jake dropped his gear in the back of Alex's truck, then they walked to the bunkhouse, almost getting run over as children flew out the door one after the other. Tommy, Mary and Sally were quickly followed by Shelly, calling out the door after them, "Stay where you can see the barn!"

Shelly looked up and noticed Jake and Alex, spending a little too much time staring at Alex's face for her liking.

"Mornin' Shelly," Jake said. "This is Alex Haddley, this is her place," Jake said by way of introduction. Shelly reached out and shook Alex's offered hand.

"Nice to meet you," Alex said. "I'm surprised we've never met before, practically being neighbors and all."

"I only recently returned. My dad got sick a couple months ago and I came home to help mama with the farm and the kids. Guess it's a good thing I came home when I did," Shelly said sadly.

"Alex! You've grown so much since the last time I saw you," Kara exclaimed from behind Shelly, J.J. perched on her hip. She saw Jake's hand hovering over Alex's lower back and smirked, looking between the two of them.

"Come here an' lemme give you a hug," she said, stepping around Shelly quickly. Before Alex could stop her Kara had brought her into a one arm hug, squeezing her bad side. Alex let a small hiss escape her lips. Jake pushed Kara back gently.

"Oh my god, I didn't mean to hurt you! What happened," Kara asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"Got in a fight yesterday, bruised some ribs," Alex said quickly. She didn't want to talk about this with every single person they came across. Maybe it would be better to make some sort of announcement or something, rip the band aid off, so to speak. She really didn't want to do that either. Maybe she should go on the run with Jake, get away from the prying eyes.

"Finally found yourself in a pinch that Jake couldn't get you out of, huh," she quipped with a smirk.

"Kara," Shelly exclaimed at her friend's rudeness.

"It's okay, Shelly. You wanna know what happened to me, Kara," Alex asked with a glint in her eye. "I was attacked, tied up and almost raped by someone that we took in; someone that I used to think was a friend."

Alex's voice was eerily calm and her eyes never left Kara's. "And you know what I did to him? How I got myself out of that _pinch_?"

Alex stepped into Kara's space, causing the woman to turn to the side to put space between Alex and J.J. Alex's mouth curled into a cold smile. Kara didn't say a word. "I slit his throat and watched as the life bled out of him, and I enjoyed every second of it," Alex said coolly.

She raised her hand to J.J.'s cheek and gave it a little pinch. "Cute kid," she said, making Kara blanch. "You ready to eat," she asked, turning to Jake. He nodded and placed his hand lightly on Alex's lower back, guiding her past Kara and Shelly and into the house. When they had their plates, she and Jake returned outside, not seeing Kara anywhere, and sat on the tailgate of Alex's truck.

"Jesus Christ," Jake said before taking a bite of food. "Yer fuckin' vicious," he said with a wink. "I was gonna jump in an' say somethin' but ya seemed ta have 'er on tha ropes all on yer own," he laughed.

"What the fuck is her problem, anyway," Alex said as she took a bite of her pancakes.

Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Never could figure why she does tha shit she does," he said through a mouthful of food.

They finished their meal in silence, watching the kids run around in the field in front of the barn and the people hurrying around in preparation for their runs. After tossing their paper plates, they met back up with Tim and found that everyone was ready to head out. A moving truck had been brought in when they relocated from the storage facility and they were using that and two pickups to clear the houses. They would make multiple trips until the houses were cleared out of everything useful.

Jake moved his stuff from Alex's truck to the truck he would be driving that day. He pulled Alex aside as everyone was doing a final check before leaving.

"So what are ya gonna do today," he asked. "Ya really think you should be doin' anythin' other than restin'?"

"You know there's no way I'm stayin' in bed all day. I figured Sally and I could go check out the orchards. I don't think Tim and Billy have gotten that far yet, I know they've got people working the gardens, but I don't think they've been picking apples and I know when I was last down there it looked like they would be ready to start picking soon," she said.

"Alrigh'. But try not to strain yerself. Don't wanna make thangs worse than they already are," he reminded her. He looked past Alex and saw that people were in the trucks and ready to get going. Jake pulled Alex into a gentle hug, kissing her on the top of the head before he released her. "You be careful," he said quietly.

"You too," she said with a smile.

Alex watched the convoy as they drove out the gate until she couldn't see them anymore, then turned to find Tim.

"I was thinkin' about taking Sally down to the orchards and picking apples. You guys haven't don't have anyone doing that yet, right," she asked him as she approached him near one of the trucks.

"Not yet. Figured it could wait until we got a couple more runs finished up. You sure you're up to it," Tim asked her. The last thing he needed was for Alex to hurt herself while Jake was gone.

"Yeah, I think I'll be okay. Not sayin' we'll pick everything in one go, but I think we can make a dent at least. Then we can get started on preserving things for the winter. Thought it'd be good for Sally to spend some time with me, maybe I can get her to talk a little and I can explain some of the things that have happened," Alex said.

"Alright. I'll have someone put some empty crates in the back of your truck. Do you need a ladder," he asked.

"Nah. There's one down there. Thanks Tim. I'm gonna go look for Sally."

"Last I saw she was tearing after Tommy down by the creek over there," he said, pointing in the direction of the tire swing.

Alex headed towards the swing, moving a little quicker when she was unable to hear the kids' voices as she got closer. They weren't there anymore, but the tracks on the ground said they had been there recently. Alex looked around a bit, then followed their trail leading further downstream.

When she reached the little spot where she and Jake had eaten lunch the day they'd spent catching up on ranch chores she could hear voices amid the babble of the creek. She parted the bushes and saw that they were all laying on the bank setting leaf-ships in the water and racing them down the rapids, cheering when someone else's got sucked down under the water. Alex chuckled to herself, they were doing the exact same thing she had done as a child, only they weren't just playing by themselves.

"Here you are," she said as she came through the trees. "I thought you weren't supposed to go out of sight of the barn," she said in her best adult voice. "You know, grownups get scared when their kids aren't where they say they're going to be, so you really have to follow the rules, okay? There's plenty to worry about without worrying about where you guys are." Tommy and Mary looked like they'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Sally, however, just looked at her.

"Was I supposed to listen to their mom too," she asked Alex.

"She's not our mom! She's our sister," Tommy aggressively corrected.

"Mom, sister, doesn't matter," Alex said. "You gotta listen to the adults, all of 'em, since they're all looking out for you now."

"Oh," Sally said, staring at the water. "I thought I only had to listen to you and Jake."

"Nice try, kid," Alex laughed. "Now that the world has changed, we all have to look out for each other. There's a lot that's bad out there and we need to make sure that we have each other's backs. Can't make it out there alone, know what I mean?"

Sally nodded; Tommy and Mary just looked at Alex.

"You all better get movin', don't want your sister getting scared cuz she can't find ya, right," she said to them. Tommy and Mary took off running back to the barn. Alex held her hand up for Sally to wait behind.

"Am I in trouble," the girl asked.

"No, not at all. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me to pick apples down in the orchard. It's about the only job I can do right now, but I need some help. You interested," Alex asked.

"Just you and me," Sally asked her.

"Yep. If we get enough work done, maybe I can start teaching you about knives," Alex answered.

Sally's face lit up at the mention of knives. "Sure," she squealed, taking Alex's hand as they walked back to the barn.

As they came around the bunkhouse they saw Shelly outside admonishing the kids for going where she couldn't see them. Kara was behind her, following J.J. as he toddled around in the dirt.

"Thank you for finding them," Shelly called to Alex. "I was starting to get worried!"

"It's no problem. I told them that they _all_ have to listen to _all _the adults now, and that it's very important to be where you're supposed to be," Alex said.

"Can we go back and play now, Shel," Tommy whined.

"No, we got some chores to do and you and your sister need to help," Shelly replied.

"No fair! How come she doesn't have to help," Tommy cried pointing at Sally.

"Don't worry, kid, she's got chores to do too," Alex said. "Come on, we better get moving," she said to Sally.

It didn't take long for Sally and Alex to reach the orchards. Alex backed her truck in through the gate when Sally opened it for her then sent Sally to fetch the ladder. It was big, she was going to have to drag it most likely, but Alex was sure the girl could handle it. She helped Sally get the ladder set up at the first tree, then moved the truck so that it was as close as possible to the row of trees they would be picking and moved the crates to the end of the truck bed.

Alex showed Sally the difference between ripe apples and unripe apples, showed her how to stand on the ladder safely and explained how they would be working - Sally would pick the apples and Alex would put them in the crates. It wasn't hard, and she and Sally quickly got to work, silently stripping the tree of its apples.

After an hour, they had completed two trees and filled one crate, so they took a small water break. As they were about to get back to work, Sally stopped mid-stride, causing Alex to bump into her and sending waves of pain through her ribs.

"Ooof," Alex grunted. "What'd ya stop for?"

"Do you know why my dad killed my mom," Sally asked.

Alex frowned. "Did I tell you that Jake and I went to your parents' house a few days after this all started," Alex asked the girl. Sally shook her head no.

"Jake was real sick at the beginning, high fever, unconscious, took me a few days to nurse him back to health. When we were finally able to leave the ranch, we thought we would visit your parents since they are good friends of my parents' and we weren't sure what was going on in town. When we found your parents, well, they were the first ones that we had seen changed. It was shocking and scary and Jake and I didn't know what was going on," Alex explained.

"Did you see what my dad did," Sally asked.

"Yes, I did. Seeing that helped Jake and I to realize what we had to do. We figured that even if there was a cure, some way to make people better, it might actually be better for them not to survive, after what they did when they were monsters. I saw what your dad did and I knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself, it wasn't him that did it, it was the monster disease, do you understand that," Alex asked.

"I think so. So my dad didn't decide to kill my mom, it was the sickness that made him do it," Sally clarified.

"Exactly. And we, Jake and I, decided that the kind thing to do would be to put them down, end their lives so they didn't have to exist as the monsters anymore," Alex said slowly. She wasn't sure if Sally would understand what it was that she was telling her.

Sally looked at Alex for a moment, then down at her shoes while she kicked the dirt around. "So you killed them," Sally eventually asked, looking Alex in the eyes.

"Yes. I didn't want them to suffer anymore. I would have done the same thing for my parents. In fact, I did do the same thing for my mom, when I found her," Alex replied.

"What did you do with their bodies," Sally said quietly.

"We burned them, along with the other neighbors that we came across. There were too many bodies for Jake and I to dig graves for but we wanted to care for them the best we could. Didn't want to just leave them somewhere," Alex explained, hoping Sally would understand.

Sally was quiet for a long time, looking down at her shoes. Alex just waited patiently for her to process what Alex had told her.

"I never thought I'd be the only person in my family," Sally said after a while.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I never thought I'd be the only one in my family either. I don't even know what happened to my dad. He was at work when the world turned, and he works in San Francisco. It took him almost three hours to get home, just on a normal day without traffic. I can't imagine he managed to get out of the city… there's so many people between there and here," Alex told her.

"At least you have Jake," Sally reminded her.

"True. But now you have Jake _and_ me," Alex told Sally with a small smile. "And Miss Kathy, too. I know it's not the same. But it's better than nothing, don't you think?"

"Mmmhmm. It's better than nothing. I was so scared out there when Simon wouldn't wake up. I was scared that I would be all alone. I didn't know what I would do if he died," Sally said.

"I felt the same way when Jake was sick and his fever was so high I didn't think he would make it. I couldn't get a hold of my parents or anyone in town. I thought I was the last person in the world and I had to make sure Jake lived so I wouldn't be alone. I spent most of my life avoiding people and trying to be alone, unless it was hunting or training with Jake, and now I know I can't be alone anymore. I have to have other people around to survive now," Alex said.

"We should get back to work," Sally said, climbing back up on the ladder. Alex smiled at her resiliency.

By the time they had filled the crates they brought with them, it was still early, not yet noon. After putting the ladder away and securing the crates in the back of the truck, Alex grabbed her pack and rifle out of the cab and nodded her head for Sally to follow her. They walked down the trail that followed the creek.

"See that tree over there," Alex said, pointing to a big tree leaning out over the water. Sally nodded. "When I was about your age I fell out of that tree into the water and almost died. There was a big storm and the creek was full and freezing. I was playing in the tree until I lost my balance and went down, hitting my head on a branch on the way. Only reason I survived is because my dog, Bear, saved me. Managed to drag me out of the water."

They continued walking in silence for a few minutes.

"What happened to him," Sally finally asked.

"He got real hurt saving me. I tried to save him, got him out of the water and everything, ran for help and Jake took him to the vet, but he was too badly injured. We had to put him down that same day," Alex answered sadly.

They continued walking in silence, past the place where Alex had escaped the water that day to the end of the fence line.

"Does this look familiar at all," Alex asked Sally.

"Not really. Should it," Sally asked back.

"Maybe. I was thinking you and Simon probably came across the fence somewhere near here. Thought maybe you and I should look for your tracks, go back to the last place you stayed," Alex told her.

"Why," Sally asked, alarm evident in her voice.

"Don't worry. You're safe with me. I just thought it would be good for you to go back there. You have to confront the things that scare you, own them so they don't own you," Alex told her.

"I don't understand," Sally said.

"You will. Come on," Alex said, giving the girl a nudge with her hip.

They walked down the fence line, towards the Branson place. Alex was pretty sure that's where they'd come from, given where Sally and Simon had ended up and the brief description Sally had given them of events leading up to Alex finding them. They reached a good place the climb through the fence and Alex paused, looking around the area.

"What are you looking for," Sally asked her.

"Just reading the signs," Alex answered. "Come here. What do you see," Alex asked as she pointed to the bottom line of barbed wire fence.

"It's a piece of cloth," Sally said. She pulled it off the fence, gingerly holding it between two fingers while she examined it. "It's part of Simon's blanket," she said, looking at Alex with big eyes.

"Hmm. What does that tell ya," Alex quizzed.

"That this is where Simon and I came through the fence," she replied promptly.

"What else," Alex pushed.

Sally looked around a bit, looking at the ground, unsure of what she was looking for. "I don't know, maybe that no one else has come through this spot since then," she said, more as a question than an answer.

Alex smiled. "What makes you say that," she asked.

"Cuz the piece came off the fence real easy and if someone else had come through in this spot it would have fallen when they brushed against it or moved the wire," Sally reasoned.

"Exactly," Alex said with a grin. "Now, look at this," she said pointing to the ground and the prints there.

Alex spent the next twenty minutes showing Sally all the signs there were in that one spot, how the depth of the print indicated the weight of the person as well as the size of the foot itself, how the dampness inside the print indicated how long it had been there, how bent twigs and grass told which way a body was travelling, you could even tell how fast a person was moving from their prints. Sally absorbed everything Alex was saying, asking questions when needed, and they were good questions. Alex was glad that her instincts about Sally had been correct.

Across the field there were a few walkers ambling around, not yet alerted to their presence. "You want to try shooting them," Alex asked the girl. Sally nodded and grinned.

Alex got Sally in position. The gun was too heavy for her to hold on her own, so Alex found her a nearby tree with a good branch to use as a brace to lean the muzzle on. Alex showed Sally how the gun works, how to load and chamber a bullet, how to aim through the scope then ran through the basics of firing, making sure to tell her that breathing is the most important part of the process because keeping your heartbeat calm is vital to making clean, consistent shots, at least according to her father. When Sally felt comfortable, Alex helped her line up her first shot, then wrapped her arms around Sally's to help brace the gun and the girl for the impact of the shot. With one final check to make sure Sally's positioning was correct, Alex whispered to her to take the shot when she was ready. Sally took a deep breath in, slowly let it out and fired.

The kickback surprised Sally, but only because she didn't know just how strong it was going to be. The gun pounded back into her shoulder, even though Alex had braced against her to help with the impact. Alex gave a long, quiet whistle.

"Right between the eyes! Not bad for your first shot," Alex crowed. "Want to try again?"

Sally lined up the next shot on her own; Alex did not check her aim, only her form before bracing against her again. Sally took the next shot, another clean head shot. This time, she was ready for the kickback and it didn't hurt as bad. There were three more walkers they could see in the field and Alex backed off, letting Sally take the shots with only the support of the tree. Sally missed the first, hitting the walker in the neck but she quickly recovered and made the kill shot. The other two walkers quickly followed their companions on the ground.

Alex gave Sally a pat on the back. "Looks like you're a natural. Now all we gotta do is built up your arm strength and you'll be able to shoot that thing all on your own. How do you feel?"

"Pretty good, actually. It feels good to know I was able to do that myself. My shoulder hurts a little, but nothing I can't get used to I guess," Sally said.

"Alright. Next lesson," Alex said, taking the gun from the girl. "Find your back trail."

The ground was covered in grazing grass, but it was long and Alex thought the trail should be easy enough for Sally to follow now that she knew what she was looking for.

When Sally found the trail she looked back at Alex. "I think I found it," she said as she pointed at the ground.

"Well, did you or didn't you," Alex asked. "What tells you this is the right trail?"

Sally squatted over the trail examining the grass. "This print looks the same as one on the other side of the fence. This is my footprint," she said, pointing to it.

"How do you know," Alex asked, genuinely curious.

"Because the right toe is dug in further than the left print. That's the part of my shoe that always wears out first, the right big toe pad," Sally explained with a big grin on her face.

"Good," Alex exclaimed. She nodded for Sally to continue and they moved on towards the house. Sally was leading them towards the back door.

Alex stopped Sally before they got any closer, wanting to take the lead to make sure the house was empty. Unfortunately, the back door was wide open and Alex could hear the groans of the dead inside. She motioned to Sally to stay where she was while Alex rushed the porch and swung the door shut quickly. The dead started pounding on the door. Alex was sure there were at least three of them, if not more.

"Feel like working on your knife skills, kid," she asked Sally.

Sally looked at her nervously. "I don't know. That means I have to get real close to them, right?"

"Well, yes, but we are gonna use the door here to help with that. I'm going to open the door, just a crack, and you're going to stab the first walker that pokes its head into the crack right in the eye. Do you think you can do that," Alex asked. Sally nodded slowly.

Alex pulled one of her throwing knives out and handed it to Sally, showing her how to hold it. She told her that instead of trying to pull the knife out she should just leave it and they would collect them when they finished eliminating the dead. "As soon as you stab it in the eye, I'm gonna pull the door closed and give us a second to regroup, okay?"

Alex counted to three then cracked the door open. Sally stood there, waiting with her arm raised for an eyeball to appear in the crack. When it did, Sally swung her arm, impaling the walker in the eye and dropping it to the floor. Alex pulled the door closed and Sally reached for another knife from Alex's holster. Twice more they repeated the action without any incident. Alex pulled the door shut and listened. When she didn't hear anything Alex tried to push the door open but the bodies were piled behind it and she couldn't get it open more than a crack.

"Come on," she motioned to Sally. "Let's go around front."

The front door was closed but Alex pounded on the door anyway just to make sure there wasn't anything else wandering around in there. When nothing responded Alex pushed the door open and cautiously stepped inside, gun raised. When she determined the house was clear, she motioned for Sally to come inside. They went to the back door and collected the knives, then retreated outside.

"Well, how was that? You okay," Alex asked Sally.

"Yeah, actually it was kinda awesome. Scary, but awesome," Sally said with a grin. "Is it the same way for you?"

"It was at first, yeah. It's not as scary anymore, but I do feel pretty fucking awesome when it's all over with. I took out a big group of thirty or so yesterday, all by myself, most of them with my knives. I will admit that felt really fucking amazing, looking at the pile of dead that was all my doing," Alex said with a smile.

"You say a lot of swears," Sally said.

"Ooops. Yeah, sorry about that. It's usually just me and Jake, I'm not used to hanging around kids and having to censor myself," Alex said with a laugh. "I'll try to pay more attention to that, okay?"

"It doesn't bother me. It's just weird to hear since my parents never cursed," Sally said. "So can I say fuck too?"

"It doesn't bother me, but I'm sure that Miss Kathy wouldn't be too happy to hear that come out of your mouth. Personally, I think there are more important things to be worried about right now, don't you," Alex asked.

"Hell yeah, I do," Sally said with a mischievous grin.

"Nice. You hungry?" Sally nodded. "Let's get back on our side of the fence. There's a little spot I want to show you and we can eat there."

Sally nodded and they set off for the fence.


	19. Chapter 19 - Day Eleven, Part Two

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Day Eleven, Part Two**

On their way back, Sally and Alex ran into one of the perimeter patrols as they crossed the fence. Patrols were still being done on foot as they had not had the chance to get people on the crew that were comfortable with horses. Alex said hello to the woman whose name she couldn't remember and they continued walking to the spot that Alex wanted to share with the girl. They crossed the creek and headed slightly northwest from where Alex had found Sally and her brother. They walked in silence, neither really having anything to say.

As they came around the last turn on the trail, they were greeted by a wide expanse of grass surrounding a single, majestic old oak tree.

"What's that," Sally asked pointing at the wooden structure fifteen feet up in the tree.

"It started as a hunting stand, then became my tree house," Alex told her with a smile. "Come on."

Alex led Sally to the tree then climbed the wooden planks nailed into the tree as a ladder, carefully testing each one before putting her full weight on it. After helping Sally onto the platform, Alex shrugged off her pack and rifle and sat down on the ledge with her feet dangling over the edge.

"What's a hunting stand," Sally asked, joining Alex on the edge.

"Jake built it, this was his favorite spot for bow hunting deer, but he used to get turkeys here too. Once I was old enough, I kinda took it over. I'd come here when I wanted to hide or be angry by myself. I spent a lot of time here thinking," Alex explained as she handed Sally some apple slices and peanut butter from her pack.

Sally started scooping the peanut butter up with the apple slices immediately.

"Do you still come up here," Sally asked with her mouth full.

"Haven't been up here in a long time, years maybe. Haven't had as much time to myself, being busy with school and stuff… guess I still don't have much time to myself now that we're so busy trying to stay alive," Alex said sadly before stuffing a finger scoop of peanut butter in her mouth.

"Can I come up here if I need to get away and think sometimes," Sally asked shyly.

"Of course," Alex said with a smile. "That's kinda why I brought you here, wanted to share this place with you. But you're gonna have to learn your way around here without getting lost. Do you know where the truck is from here," Alex asked.

Sally looked around, then stood and looked back in the direction they'd come from.

"That way," Sally said, pointing slightly southwest of their location.

"How do you know," Alex pressed.

"Because the trees near the creek are darker and from up here I can see how they follow the creek back to the orchard then turn and head up towards the barn. The orchard and the truck are near that bend," Sally said gesturing with her finger.

Alex was impressed. She didn't think Sally would get it right on her first try, not without some hints. She really did pay attention to everything.

"I'm impressed. Took me a while to get that one when Jake was teaching me how to track and hunt. Of course, I was also nine," she teased. "I'm really glad you are paying so much attention to things."

Sally huffed and sat back down on the edge with Alex.

"What's wrong," Alex asked.

"Maybe if I'd paid more attention before Simon wouldn't be dead," Sally said quietly.

Alex put her hand on Sally's shoulder. "You can't do that to yourself, live in the past and think about what you could have or should have done. You can't change anything by beating up on yourself." Sally didn't look convinced. "Did you try your hardest to protect him and keep him safe," Alex asked.

Sally was quiet for a moment before nodding her head. "Yes. I tried my best. My best just wasn't good enough."

"But it was your best at the time. Now all you can do is improve your best, right? Learn more, get stronger, be faster and smarter. You can make a lot of improvements, especially now that you know what your best needs to be, what you will have to do to survive. Can you understand that," Alex asked her.

Sally nodded, but still looked skeptical.

Alex sat for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to get through to Sally. "Wanna know a secret? I haven't even told Jake," she whispered conspiratorially, nudging Sally in the side with her elbow.

Sally raised her eyebrows, curiosity peeked. "Sure."

"When I found my mom she was sitting in her car, turned into one of the monsters. It looked like she'd died from a car crash. You know one of the things I thought when I was standing there looking at her? I was glad that she didn't have to live and see the awful things I was seeing and doing the awful things I was doing. I was glad she was dead. Of course, I missed her, _miss_ her. But I keep thinking that it's good that she's gone. I can be happy that she didn't have to become a killer like me," Alex said sadly.

They were quiet for a long time after that, just listening to the sounds of the day and thinking.

"Am I a killer now too," Sally asked, finally breaking the silence.

Alex put her arm around Sally's shoulder and brought her in for a side hug. "I think we all have to be killers now if we want to survive," Alex said grimly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Alex was following Sally back to the orchard. She had put the girl in charge of getting them back safely. She was even going to let her drive the truck back to the barn, but she hadn't told Sally that yet. Sally managed to get them back to the truck with only one mis-turn, which she figured out on her own and they only lost a few minutes backtracking.

"You ever drive a car before," Alex asked Sally. Alex had been driving since she was nine, but she figured that was an unusual experience and that Sally probably had never been allowed.

"Drove a go-kart at the mini-golf place for my birthday last year, but that's it other than playing video games," Sally said.

Alex tossed her the truck keys. "Wanna learn," Alex asked with a grin.

"Hell yeah," Sally exclaimed.

"Well, hop in then," Alex said, tossing her stuff in the back and getting in the passenger seat.

Alex walked Sally through the basics, then she let her put it in drive and they were bouncing down the rutted, dirt road at about five miles per hour. Alex had told Sally not to even put her foot on the gas until she got used to how much the truck pulled on its own. So far it was going plenty fast for her since she was trying to dodge the ruts with limited success.

Sally finally had to accelerate to get the truck up the steep hill, but she failed to see a deep rut on the left side of the road and the tire was about to get sucked into it. Alex reached over and grabbed the wheel, jerking it quickly to the right to avoid the rut. She didn't feel like covering four-wheel-drive at the moment.

"Sorry," Sally squeaked trying to steady her hands on the wheel.

"It's okay. You're doing a good job. Gotta keep your eye on all parts of the road, all the time. You gotta know what's in front of you and know how to react to what could be coming up next. You shoulda seen the rut and avoided it. Next time you will," Alex said with a smile.

As they pulled up to the barn, Alex could see there was lots of commotion centered around a few trucks that were pulled in front. Alex figured several runs came back at once. Jake's was not one of them. She directed Sally to a parking spot so they could drop the apples off, Sally rolled into it and the truck abruptly jerked to a stop. Sally put it in park, then turned to Alex with a huge grin on her face.

"That was fucking awesome! Thank you so much for taking me out today, Alex. I feel a lot better," Sally said. She reached over and gave Alex a big hug; Alex groaned slightly at the pressure.

"Sorry! I forgot about your ribs," Sally apologized.

"No worries. I keep forgetting about it too," Alex said with a smile. "I'm glad we got the chance to go out and start your training. You're a natural. The biggest thing we have to work on is your strength. You build up those muscles and you'll be as tough as me in no time." Alex smiled at Sally before adding, "Better watch your mouth. Don't think Kathy will be too happy to hear you talking like that."

Alex and Sally helped get the apple crates unloaded, then Alex sent Sally to find Kathy to see if she needed any help with anything while she went and talked to Billy.

"Hey! How're you feelin' today," Billy asked when he saw Alex approach. "You takin' it easy?"

"Feelin' pretty good, considering I almost died," Alex joked. "Trying to take it easy, but it's hard. Took Sally down to the orchards and picked a bunch of apples. Then took her out to the Branson place, showed her a few things about tracking. I was right in guessing that was where they were before they got chased onto our place. Then I showed her how to shoot my rifle and taught her how to stab walkers up close. She cleaned the place out like a pro."

"You had her stab them up close? Damn. How'd she do with that," Billy asked.

"She did great. Asked some questions, we talked about killing now and protecting yourself and others. I think it was good for her to kill the ones that were responsible for her brother dying. She's gotta take control of the grief or it will kill her," Alex said.

"Saw you let her drive your truck. She getting her license early too," Billy joked.

"Hey, I started driving when I was nine, so she's not too young to learn. Besides, who knows what she's gonna need to know how to do in order to survive. Driving is easy enough to teach and I don't want her to have to learn it on the fly when her survival depends on it. Know what I mean," Alex asked him.

Billy nodded.

"Besides, she's really fucking smart. I think she can be a huge asset around here long term. She's like a sponge just waiting to soak up anything we're willing to give her," Alex added.

"So what's the plan for her, long term? Someone's gotta be responsible for her. That gonna be you," Billy asked.

"I don't know. Been thinking about that, but haven't had a chance to talk it over with anyone. I was thinking she should follow me around on runs and hunts, going out and cleaning places out. I don't see any reason why she can't start learning now," Alex responded.

"You're right. We should probably start teaching everyone that is capable how to fight, how to use a gun and how to use a knife. Won't hurt anything and it could mean the difference between life and death for someone. We should discuss it. Which reminds me, we need to have an official group meeting, get everyone acquainted and assigned to jobs. You think you and Jake will be up for that tonight," Billy asked.

"I don't see why not," Alex said, leaving out the thought that followed, _assuming everything goes okay out there._ "So, how did your run go? Any trouble?"

"Yeah, we ran into a little trouble. Lost Brian. Found some survivors, they're getting settled with Kathy right now. Took care of the men that shot Brian. I'm gonna wait to tell the whole story until everyone that needs to hear it is here. Don't wanna tell it twice," Billy said.

"Shit. You sure we're okay, no one followed ya back or anything," Alex asked. She was suddenly paranoid and worried about Jake.

"Yeah. Checked out their campsite, was just the guys we saw. Left Zach out at the end of the road with the walkie, just in case something followed us back. Haven't heard anything from him, been out there for about thirty minutes now," Billy said. "Would you mind running out there and checking on him? Figure it's safe for drop the watch after a couple hours. You mind hangin' with him until then and bringing him back?"

"You think he'll be okay with that, me showing up out there? You know, after last night and his brother and all," Alex said hesitantly.

"Zach's fine. Told us he'd heard Aaron sayin' something about how no one understood him and he wasn't going to be embarrassed. Zach tried to get him to talk but he wouldn't. Said he just figured it was Aaron being Aaron, said he was always like that. Said he'd never acted on anything before. Was his idea to go into town and get the tractor, use it to dig pits to put the bodies in. Said his brother should go in there, not be buried on your property," Billy explained.

Alex was surprised to hear that. She thought for sure he'd be at least upset with her. She was a little surprised that Zach would suggest just dumping the body in with all the walkers they were killing. Guess they weren't all that close to begin with.

"Alright. I'll gear up and head out in my truck. Sally's with Kathy, I'm gonna check in with her before I go," Alex said.

She ran over to the bunkhouse and Kathy and Sally were just coming out the front door.

"Hey! I'm going to run out to the main road and do some recon, be gone about two hours. Is it okay if Sally stays here with you 'til I get back," Alex asked Kathy.

"Sure thing! We were just about to start some laundry and I could use her help," Kathy replied. "I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and brought all the laundry down from the laundry room at the house, except for yours and Jake's stuff. Figured we'd start running the washer down here throughout the day, have the older kids fold and sort it. I'm sure Sally will be a big help."

Sally rolled her eyes, which Alex could see and Kathy could not. Alex thought she knew why. "Hey, Sally, walk me to my truck, would ya," Alex asked her. Sally nodded and followed.

"What's with the attitude, kid," Alex asked.

"Nothin'," Sally said, kicking the dirt. "Laundry is boring. I wanna go with you."

"This trip could be a little dangerous, too dangerous for a training run. You stay here and help out with the laundry, or whatever else anyone needs you to help with. That's your job today, okay? I promise I'll take you out again real soon, but we all got jobs to do and that comes first." Alex opened the driver's door, then turned and put her hand on Sally's shoulder. "And you better do your best work, today, got it? If I hear you gave anyone attitude or were slacking off, it will be a while before I take you out training again, okay?"

Sally nodded. "Sure thing, Alex. I'll be good, promise." Alex gave her a wink then headed out.

Alex drove out to the main road and found Zach waiting in the same tree she'd been in yesterday at about the same time.

"Hey, see anything interesting," she asked from the foot of the tree.

"Nah, nothin' out here. Not even any walkers. Kinda surprising, actually," Zach said as he climbed out of the tree. "How are you feeling today? I'm really sorry about my brother; I never thought he'd do something like that. I'm glad that you're okay."

"Thanks, Zach. I'm really sorry about what happened. I really didn't have any choice," Alex said quietly.

"I know you didn't. Jake showed us where it happened. Aaron had no business out there. Jake found the spot where he'd been hiding in the bushes and watching you. It was clear he was there for a long time. Honestly, if I had to pick one of you to survive in this world with, I'd pick you over him any day. I know it sounds horrible, he was my brother, but… it's just better that you're here instead of him," Zach finished awkwardly.

"Can we make a deal never to talk about it again? I feel bad, you feel bad. I'm okay, so let's just leave it, okay," Alex asked him. Zach nodded. "Good. There's some snacks in my bag if you want to eat something. I'll take watch for a little bit. Billy said we could head back after a couple hours."

Alex climbed the tree to watch while Zach ate. "So Billy mentioned you guys ran into some trouble on the run this morning. You okay," Alex asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Killed my first living person today. It was easy to do when our lives were at risk, but now I can't stop thinking about how he looked when I shot him in the neck. Don't regret it, would make the same choice again, but it's gonna stick with me," Zach said.

"I've been killing things, animals, all my life, but Molly was my first human kill… I don't think the memory of how it felt to break her neck will ever leave my brain," Alex said. She kept herself from uttering the next words, _and I hope it never does because it felt so damn good_. She didn't think that was what Zach needed to hear her say, especially since she'd just killed his brother last night. Deserved or not, Alex didn't want Zach to think that she liked killing.

After that they waited and watched, quietly talking about the old world, what they each thought about some of the newcomers to the group, anything that would keep them from talking about Aaron or killing. When they had about thirty minutes left on their watch, they heard a truck pull up. Alex was back on the ground and Zach was in the tree, so Alex slipped through the trees and saw that Jake and Sally had arrived.

"What're you two doing out here? Billy told us to come back after a couple of hours; we were getting ready to head back pretty soon. And you, missy, did you help Kathy with chores," she asked looking at Sally.

"Yep. When Jake got back I asked her if I could go with him and she said it was okay. I promise, I helped with the laundry like I said I would," Sally replied.

"Billy told me wha' ya were doin' an' I thought I'd come out an' check on ya. Sally damn near tackled me when I got outta tha truck, told me all about wha'cha were up to this mornin'. Don't sound like ya took it too easy," Jake said with a grin as he reached out and rested his hand on Alex's shoulder. "How're ya feelin?"

"Good, all things considered. Didn't work too hard this morning, I let Sally do all the heavy lifting," she said with a wink at the girl.

"Well, come on. Time ta head back, Billy said somethin' 'bout a meetin' before tha group meetin' tonight. Ya really didn't see anythin' out here tha whole time," Jake asked.

"Nope. No strays, nothing. Lemme get Zach and we can head back," Alex said.

"Can I drive your truck again," Sally asked when Alex and Zach emerged from the trees. "I promise I will do better this time."

"How come ya didn't ask me," Jake asked with a chuckle.

"Didn't think you'd let me," Sally said quickly.

"Alright, go get in, I'll be there in a minute," Alex said before turning to Jake. "Why don't you guys take the lead, she's still a little slow. We'll meet you at the barn," she said with a smile.

Jake and Zach took off with Sally and Alex following behind. Sally was right, this time she did a much better job paying attention to the road and Alex didn't have to intervene at all. When they arrived at the barn, it was much more chaotic than when Alex had left. It looked like most of the runs were back and in various stages of unloading. After parking, Sally jumped out, told Alex she was going to find Kathy to figure out what she needed help with. Alex smiled at the girl's consideration and told her that she would be around the barn with Jake helping out as she could, then Alex went to find the boys.

"So, we got a meetin'," Jake asked Billy and Tim as Alex walked up to the truck they and Zach were gathered around.

"Yeah, wanna tell you guys what happened in town today before we talk to the bigger group. Let's go somewhere a little quieter," Billy suggested.

They moved off a ways towards the creek where they wouldn't be overheard; Billy began the tale quietly:

Things started out real good. Took out some stragglers on our way in but didn't see anythin' suspicious. Got the tractor up on the trailer and John drove it back while we went to check out the barricades. The one in town was fine; everything looked like it did the last time we were there.

We drove through town to head to the other barricade and Zach noticed that there was a vehicle parked near the grocery store that wasn't there when we left town. We snuck up to the doors and could hear people arguing inside, a man and a woman. I peeked inside and saw the man had the woman by the hair and was holding her face close to his, yelling at her about how she should be grateful that he found her and her brats and she should show him her gratitude.

I figured there were kids nearby and that things were about to get nasty, so I had Zach and Brian bust through the doors while I kept my gun aimed at the guy unnoticed. As suspected, when he heard them come through the doors, he grabbed the woman and pulled her in front of him as a shield. Brian told the man that we weren't looking for any trouble and asked the woman if she was okay. That's when I recognized her. Maggie Horton. Her husband and I used to ride in the rodeo together. She told Brian that everything was fine, but the look on her face said otherwise.

I was just about to shoot the guy when Brian took a step towards them and I lost my shot. The guy pulled her into a different position and I no longer had a clear headshot. Brian was trying to talk the guy down, but it was just making him more agitated and Maggie was starting to panic. I knew we needed to do something fast and since he hadn't seen me yet I snuck around to the back entrance to get the drop on him from behind.

There was another man in the back that had his gun trained on Maggie's kids, who were in tears and trying their best not to further provoke the man, with limited success. I snuck up behind him and slit his throat at the same moment his partner up front started yelling for him to come help him with Zach and Brian. I told the kids to go hide in the break room and lock the door until I came back for them.

When the dead buddy didn't call out, the man started getting erratic and waving his gun around, threatening everyone if they didn't tell him how many of us there were. Brian said there were eight of us, hoping to make him think he was outnumbered and it was pointless to fight back. But the guy just started shooting, missing Brian and Zach when they dove for cover. I took advantage of the opening and shot the guy in the head from behind when I came out of the storeroom.

Maggie dropped to the floor and I ran to her, thinking she'd gotten caught by a stray bullet the way that manic was shooting randomly. But she had only fainted. We cleared the rest of the building before getting the kids and Maggie out to the truck. When she came to, we explained to them that we had a place they could come stay, but we needed to go check the other barricade first. Maggie and the kids waited in the truck while we got out and inspected the area on the outside of the barricade, looking for any sign that there had been someone there. We were ambushed by about a dozen walkers that came out of the trees at us. Brian was closest and took out half of them with his axe before we joined him with our knives. No one got hurt and we thought we were home free.

When we came back over the wall, Maggie and the kids were tied at their hands and feet and laying on the ground next to the truck with two men covering them. Three more men came out of the trees and aimed their guns at us and yelled us to get on our knees and drop our weapons. We did what they said.

Brian was the first one they approached; he must've had a small hatchet on him I didn't know about because as soon as the man bent down to reach for Brian's hands, he brought the hatchet up hard, impaling the man through his chin and halfway up into his head. Blood sprayed everywhere. As soon as I saw Brian make a move I dove towards my gun; I heard a shot as I cocked it and took aim at the man closest to me and then the one next to him. There was another shot and then silence, until I heard Brian gasping for breath.

I'd shot the two that tied Maggie and the kids up, Zach got one and Brian got one. The last man surrendered. Zach tied him up while I checked Brian out. Took one shot to the chest, was real close to his heart. He was having a hard time breathing and was gurgling up blood by the time I got a look at him. Didn't even have time to decide what to do to help him, he died before Zach was even finished untying Maggie and the kids.

Everyone was silent as they waited for Billy to continue. When he didn't, Zach picked up the story:

When I got there Brian had already died. I offered to finish him off but Billy took his knife and took care of it. We interrogated the prisoner, well, I interrogated, Billy intimidated. We got the info about when their camp was; they had been camped in the woods nearby. Never could figure out why they were out in the woods instead of settling on something in town.

Billy said he found tracks of seven men. There were clear tracks of the five we'd seen, while the tracks of the other two led in the direction of town.

When Billy came back, he asked the man where the other two men in their group had gone. The man looked surprised that Billy knew that, but he answered and said they'd headed into town to check out the supply situation at the general store.

Zach paused here, looking unsure about what he should say next. He and Billy shared a brief look, Billy nodded and Zach continued.

"When he finished talking, Billy shot him in the back of the head. We loaded Brian in the back of the truck and Maggie and the kids in the cab and went back to the store. Maggie had said that their truck was the one that I'd noticed when we drove through town, so we went back and got their truck, then brought them home."

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes while the story sunk in. They'd lost one of their best people today.

"Shit," Alex said, kicking the ground. "Should we start patrolling town?"

"I dunno. Seems like that would be a dangerous waste of resources, just to have regular patrols. But we should definitely be more careful when we go on runs into town. We should have taken more people, done a better sweep, paid more attention. I should have been a better leader. Brian's death is on me," Billy said morosely.

"It's on all of us," Zach said. "We all should have been paying more attention. We gotta just do better next time. Not let it happen again."

"I agree with tha kid," Jake said. "Can't change it, gotta jus' do yer best to keep it from happin' again."

"Did we ever decide on a place to bury our dead? Should we just use the little grove where we buried Simon," Alex asked.

"It's a good spot, was easy ta dig," Jake offered.

"Works for me," Billy said. "So big group meeting tonight. Zach, would you mind explaining the story to them for me? I can't tell it again."

Zach nodded. "Sure, no problem, Billy."

"What exactly are we covering in this group meeting," Alex asked.

"Thought we should introduce you to everyone since you've missed most everyone coming in, explain about Aaron and Brian, explain what our plan of operation is, make sure everyone understands who's in charge and their jobs. Might not be able to get through everything in one meeting, but it's worth a shot. Alex and I were talkin' about having training for everyone that needs it, especially the kids. And we need to figure out what we're gonna do with orphans. Sally is the only one without any family at all, but _if _something happens and other kids lose family, what are we going to do with them? Who's in charge of them? How can we make sure they're taken care of," Billy asked.

"Ain't she stayin' with us," Jake asked Alex.

"She can, most of the time, but if we have to go out on a run or somethin' happens to one of us we need to know that she'll be taken care of. I've been meaning to talk to Kathy about the long term plan. We should probably talk to her before this meeting. Do we have other people we want to ask about taking care of the kids," Alex asked the group.

"What about Shelly and Kara," Tim suggested. "I know Kara ain't the first person ya think of when you're thinkin' about role models, but she's got that baby now and she seems pretty set on raisin' him right."

"Shelly I'm on board with, she's soft, but kids will probably need that from someone," Alex said. "But I don't trust Kara. I think she should be a last resort."

"Don't know if she'd be up to it, but Maggie is good with kids too. She was a teacher when her kids were little. And her kids are teens, so they should be able to help out, but they should be trained for other activities too," Billy said.

"Well, let's start by talkin' to Kathy, see what she thinks. She might have some suggestions that we haven't considered yet," Alex said. "Also, do we have an official council yet? We haven't talked about it since before you guys moved in here."

"Figured it'd be you two," Billy said nodding at Jake and Alex, "plus me an' Tim. Guess we need a fifth just to make it look like we're voting on shit." Everyone chuckled at that.

"What about Kathy," Zach asked. "She's smart, important to how things run around here and she will know all about the inventory levels and everyone talks to her, so she may have insights that you guys don't have."

"She makes me a little nervous, after that conversation about keeping a history," Alex said. "I don't want to have to argue with her about why we have to do something that she may not agree with, and I don't want her trying to get others to side against us. I mean, I don't know that she would, but, like I said, it makes me nervous."

"It might not be a bad thing to have someone on the council that isn't a part of our "inside" group, you know what I mean," Tim said. "Besides, I don't think she'll do it. She's already got a lot on her plate, and if we ask her to be in charge of the kids she won't even have time to talk things through with us. What about Doc?"

"Suggested it to him yesterday afternoon, but he wasn't interested. Said he wants to stay out of politics, whatever that means," Billy said with an laugh.

"We gotta figure something out before we meet with everyone. Do we even want to consider letting everyone vote on the last person," Tim asked.

Everyone shook their heads. No one wanted to give the larger group that much power. That didn't seem like a good idea.

"How 'bout Ellie," Jake suggested. "She's smart, good on runs, has a good eye fer plannin'. She was really on point today on tha run. Might be worth talkin' ta her, get a feel fer how she thinks, see if she's on tha same page as us."

Ellie was about the same age as Billy and Jake, and both men had known her since they'd moved to town. She'd inherited the bar in town from her father and took over day to day operations a couple of years ago.

No one had any objections to talking to her, of their remaining choices she seemed to be the best fit. It was decided that Jake and Alex would talk to her and Kathy while Tim and Billy worked on organizational issues, trying to get everything that'd been brought back today inventoried and put away before the meeting.

As the group parted ways, Jake grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her off into the trees near the creek. Alex was surprised, but followed along.

"What's up? You okay," Alex asked him when he finally stopped walking.

"I'm fine. Jus' wanted ta talk ta ya alone fer a minute," Jake said. He was still holding Alex's hand, but she wasn't going to say anything about it.

"Okay," Alex said cautiously, bringing her body in line with his so they were face to face.

"Yer ribs okay," he asked. Alex nodded. "An' everythin' else, tha cuts on yer back?"

"Everything's fine, Jake. What's this really about? You already asked me how I was feelin' out at the main road," Alex said.

Jake dropped Alex's hand and began pacing. Alex figured something must have happened out on the run, but she couldn't think of any reason he'd be acting like this, almost like a caged animal.

"Jake," Alex started, but he cut her off, raising his hand.

"I was thinkin'... maybe, I dunno, I jus' wan' ya ta know… shit," Jake stuttered out, finally letting out an exasperated sigh and running his fingers through his hair. If Alex wasn't mistaken, it looked like Jake was sweating a little. It wasn't that hot, why was he sweating?

Alex took his hands in hers and forced him to look her in the eyes. "Whatever it is, you can tell me, you know that. It's you an' me against the world, remember," she said with a smile.

Jake took a deep breath and Alex could see his shoulders relax. He raised one hand to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and returned her smile. He couldn't look her in the eyes when he resumed speaking, however.

"I jus' wan' ya ta know tha' I … fuck," Jake practically shouted. Alex flinched at the unexpected epithet.

Alex started to say something, but Jake cut her off. "Nevermind, Al. Let's just go talk to Ellie and Kathy," he said abruptly, walking off before Alex could respond. She shook her head and followed after him.


	20. Chapter 20 - Day Eleven, Part Three

**Chapter Twenty**

**Day Eleven, Part Three**

Jake had spent the first part of the run thinking about his last conversation with Billy about Alex. Billy was right, it was clear that there was _something_ between him and Alex, but Jake had no idea how to put it into words. He tried to take the age thing out of it, consider his feelings without regard to how young she was, but Jake just couldn't do it. Whatever it was would have to wait until she was older.

She deserved to know that though. He'd finally accepted that he needed to talk to Alex and tell her what he was thinking. He just couldn't figure out how to put it into coherent thoughts. Every attempt he made at wrangling his thoughts together only succeeded in making things more confusing.

Jake was trying to think of a way to tell Alex that he thought of her as more than just some little kid that he had to take care of and that he wanted to be more to her than 'just Jake'. But everything he said in his head sounded ridiculous. What if saying something just made everything between them worse? He would basically be telling her that he liked her, but he was too scared to act on it. What kind of a man was he if he couldn't take that one step? Jake suddenly began to doubt everything that had been so clear after talking to Billy, and then almost losing Alex. If he'd just said something then, when they were alone in the cave, it would at least be over with.

Jake was startled out of his thoughts by Ellie shaking his shoulder.

"Earth to Jake. We're ready to roll," Ellie said.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he looked around and realized they were at the Johnson's. That just made him think about Alex again. He shook his head and focused on Ellie.

"So what's the plan," she asked.

"Get everythin' an' get back, that's tha plan," Jake said gruffly. "Start with tha kids' stuff, food, household stuff an' weapons. Everythin' else can wait til tha next run."

Ellie saw that everyone was getting out of the vehicles and waiting for instructions. "Want me to go group people and get them going," she asked.

"Nah, I can. Come on, you're with me," Jake said, exiting the truck.

Jake split everyone into groups of two with assignments to collect specific items. Jake and Ellie took charge of clearing out the kids rooms. When they had collected everything they came for, the group loaded back up and headed down the road to the Sullivan place. Jake had them run with the same plan and everyone moved out.

Ellie and Jake moved through the house quickly, one room was upstairs and one downstairs. They cleared out the downstairs room first, which looked like it was Mary's. They grabbed everything they thought she could use and moved on to the upstairs room. The door was closed, which Jake thought was unusual since they'd cleared the house previously and intentionally left all the doors inside open. He hadn't seen anything to indicate that anyone else had been here, but then Jake hadn't been looking at the ground for tracks.

Jake held his hand up for Ellie to wait, then he pounded on the door three times. When he didn't hear any signs of the dead, he opened the door cautiously and Ellie backed him up as he entered the room with his gun raised.

Someone had definitely been there since yesterday. The room had been tossed, and they hadn't done that when they cleared the house. There was a bathroom connected to the bedroom and the door to that was closed as well. Jake knocked on the door, heard nothing and swung it open, only to have the door kicked back at him.

Jake slammed his body up against the door, hoping to pin whoever was there behind it. There was a muffled grunt, then a hand slashed with a knife around the door, trying to sink the blade into anything it could. Jake was surprised, moving just fast enough to miss getting stabbed in the forearm.

Ellie came around behind him and trained her gun on the person behind the door, who immediately stopped slashing and dropped the kitchen knife to the floor with a clatter. Jake released the pressure he was putting on the door and opened it so the person could come out. Jake was surprised to see a young man of no more than fifteen glaring back at him.

"Who tha hell are you," Jake ordered with his gun aimed at the kid.

"What's it to you? You gonna invite me to tea," the kid snarked. His dark eyes darted back and forth between Jake and Ellie, sizing them up, Jake thought. He had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

"Look, we ain't gonna hurt ya. We jus' came ta collect tha belongin's of tha kids tha used ta live here. Ain't no reason anyone's gotta get hurt," Jake said cautiously. He was hoping he could talk this kid down and not have to resort to violence.

"Bullshit. Ain't no one takin' care of kids these days. They just get the biters all riled up with their whining and crying," the kid said with menace in his eyes. He clenched his fists at his sides. Jake knew he was working himself up to attack.

"Don't know what ta tell ya, but we're takin' care of kids. Got a handful 'bout yer age an' a couple little ones. I know shit's bad, but we ain't the bad guys, kid," Jake drawled. He didn't think there was anything he could say to get the kid to believe him, but he had to try.

"Fuck you. You just want to take my shit. I won't go without a fight," he yelled as he flung himself at Ellie, who was just slightly closer to him than Jake was.

Ellie, however, was prepared. Before the kid could take more than half a step towards her, she brought up the butt of her gun and smashed his face with it, dropping him to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Damn. I was ready fer 'im ta make that move an' you were still faster than me," Jake said, impressed. "You were gonna hit 'im anyway, weren't ya?"

Ellie gave him a mischievous grin. "I could tell he wasn't going to come quietly, so I was going to hit him as soon as he was more distracted by you. He chose poorly by attacking first," she said with a laugh.

Jake wasn't sure what they should do with the kid. He didn't want to tie him up since he already had trust issues, but Jake also didn't trust him to not try to attack someone as soon as he came to. Jake fireman carried him downstairs and out to the porch, settling for tying his hands behind his back, leaving him lying on the ground. Ellie stood guard while everyone finished collecting what they'd come for.

It took another hour to finish clearing out the Sullivan place. Jake was surprised when he came out to the porch and saw that the kid was still out cold. He stood with Ellie for a moment, thinking about the situation.

"You know he's not going to be happy about us forcing him to come with us," Ellie said.

"I know. Don' know wha' else ta do with 'im though. Can't jus' kill 'im cuz he don't trust us. Maybe once he sees we ain't lyin' 'bout helpin' kids he'll come around," Jake said hopefully.

The others were trickling out of the house as they finished gathering their items. The trucks were loaded and ready to go. It was going to be a tight fit, but there was enough room in the king cab of the truck he and Ellie had driven to fit the kid in the backseat with his hands tied.

Ellie and Jake reached down simultaneously to pull the kid to his feet and carry/drag him out to the truck. Suddenly, the kid was awake and thrashing about wildly. He'd somehow managed to get a small knife in his hands and had partially cut through one of the ropes and was now attempting to stick his knife into one of them. Jake grabbed the arm with the knife, trying to force it out of his hand. Ellie, however, had had enough. She came up behind the kid and shot him in the head, spraying Jake with brains and blood. Jake looked at her, momentarily stuck dumb.

"I know you about had him disarmed, but he was a threat. He had to go," Ellie said.

"Nah, you're right. Jus' too bad he couldn't trust us long enough ta see that we weren't lyin'," Jake said. They carried the body to the pile of walker bodies that they'd made yesterday and tossed it on top. Everyone piled into the trucks and they returned to the ranch.

On the drive back, Jake couldn't help but think about that kid and how similar to Alex he was. She had that same fighting spirit, same stubbornness. It wasn't hard to imagine her in his place. Alex wouldn't have believed them either; she was more likely to think someone was lying than telling her the truth, at least nowadays. Jake had a moment of panic when he thought of Alex lying there, shot in the head because she refused to believe that people were still good.

Billy's words echoed in his head again, "_If ya keep this up, you're gonna push her away, and then we might all lose her … if she gets pushed too far there may be no way to stop her from embracing the dark side … she's on the edge, man."_

Jake couldn't stand the thought of losing Alex, in any way. She was always so bright and smart and funny, always helped him see things through her much younger and less jaded eyes. The idea that she could be swallowed up by the unrelenting darkness that seemed to surround them now was terrifying. For her to be there and yet not be his Alex anymore… he couldn't let that happen. He had to do whatever he could to protect her, from the world and from herself, even if she didn't want him to.

When they got back to the ranch, Jake changed out of his bloody shirt and talked to Billy about what happened. When Billy told him that Alex had gone out on watch with Zach, Jake had to admit to himself that there was a little twinge of jealousy. Rationally he knew that Alex wasn't interested in Zach, but for some reason he couldn't get his brain to let it go. It just kept telling him over and over, _better get out there an' protect yer girl_. Even though Billy told him that they were due back in about thirty minutes, Jake decided to head out there anyway, "Just to check on thangs," he told Billy, but Billy wasn't fooled. He didn't say anything, just gave Jake a knowing look.

Sally attacked him around that time, begging him to come along. The girl seemed much happier than she had that morning and Jake wondered what it was that had changed for her. He agreed she could come when Kathy gave him a nod and they drove out to the road, Sally chattering away the whole time about all the things she and Alex had done that morning. Jake hoped that Sally would help be a light to Alex as well and keep her present and out of the darkness. It sure seemed that Alex was that for Sally.

Jake had initially thought about telling Alex as soon as he saw her, but then Sally had tagged along and Zach was within earshot, and Jake just wasn't ready. He couldn't get himself to say these things to just Alex, he sure couldn't do it with an audience.

Then they were back at the ranch and Billy was telling them about their run and Jake was brought back to the kid Ellie had killed and how it could have been Alex and all he wanted to do was get her alone so he could tell her how he felt.

After their meeting, he pulled her aside where they couldn't be overheard and tried to get the words out. Tried to tell her that he _did_ have feelings for her and that he _did_ want to be hers and for her to be his but the words got all twisted up and stopped making sense in his mind. All he could do was stumble and curse. The way she looked at him it seemed like she already knew what he wanted to say, so why didn't she just help him out and say it already? He became flustered looking in her eyes, so he looked away, but seeing that fucking cut on her cheek made him angry again that he'd failed to protect her. Jake finally decided to cut his losses and fled the scene with Alex trailing behind him, probably confused. Jake wanted to kick himself.

He and Alex started by talking to Ellie. The conversation was easy. She was clearly of the same mindset that Alex, Jake and the Jenkins boys when it came to operations around the ranch.

"So would you be interested in being on the council with us," Alex asked her. "I promise it won't be too much work. You'll keep your regular job; we hope we don't have to meet very often. None of us want that."

"You asking anyone else," Ellie asked.

"Nope. Yer our first an' only choice. Well, Doc was our first choice, but he didn't want nothin' ta do with it. After workin' with ya a couple times I thought ya had what it takes ta make decisions fer tha whole group, not jus' yerself," Jake told her.

"Well, I don't see any reason why not. I'm just as invested as ya'll in makin' this place work. Lived in this town my whole life an' just like the rest of ya I watched as everyone I ever knew died and came back to life. I don't know if the world will ever be the same, but I want to give whatever life I have left to making this place work. Especially for the kids," Ellie said, looking out over the yard where the Sullivan kids were running around playing.

"Alrigh' then, we're glad ta have ya on board," Jake said, extending his hand and shaking hers. Alex did the same. "We got one more thang ta deal with, then we'll get ya filled in on everything ya need ta know before tonight's meetin'."

They parted ways and Alex and Jake went to find Kathy. She was in the barn, working on sorting all the items that had been brought in that afternoon. Sally was helping her, sorting through a pile of clothing.

"Hey you two! What brings you to my neck of the woods," Kathy asked them with a smile.

"Jus' wanted ta talk to ya, got a sec," Jake asked her.

"Sure. Sally, will you take this pile of walkie talkies to Billy, please? I think he'll be happy to have them," she said.

Sally nodded her head vigorously, scooped the walkies up and went off in search of Billy. Kathy followed Jake and Alex outside.

"So, what's on your minds," Kathy asked, looking between the two of them.

"We wanted to talk to you about Sally specifically and the kids that are here in general," Alex said. Kathy nodded.

"Sally doesn't have anyone, and I think Jake and I would like to be her main caregivers," Alex said, looking at Jake. They hadn't had a chance to really talk about it, but he just nodded in assent.

"But we won't be around all the time and if something happens to us," she paused trying to avoid thinking about losing Jake, "if something happens to one or both of us she needs to be taken care of," Alex finished.

"You don't have anything to worry about. I am happy to take care of her anytime. Are you sure that you are up to caring for a girl her age," Kathy asked Alex.

"Honestly, I don't know. But I'd like to try. I see some of myself in her and I think I know how to help her with that," Alex laughed. "Really, I'd like to train her. She's got good instincts and some natural ability. With a little training, she can be a real asset around here."

"I don't mean to be rude, but she's an eleven year old girl who just lost her whole family, witnessed horrible things while trying to survive and you want to turn her into an asset," Kathy asked with a frown.

"We've all witnessed horrible things lately, some of us more than others. She survived this long because of luck; I want her to be able to survive because of skill. There's nothing wrong with being an asset. She has the makings of a skilled hunter and fighter. Those are valuable skills these days, in case you haven't noticed. She needs to be able to take care of herself, because, as she already found out, there isn't always going to be someone around to save you. Yes, she lost her whole family. Most of us have. Some people lose everything and continue fighting. I want her to be that person, not someone who loses everything and gives up. I think I know how to help her keep fighting, and that's a good thing for all of us," Alex finished with a huff.

"No one's talkin' 'bout turnin' her in ta a soldier, Alex jus' wants ta teach 'er how ta hunt an' fight. She needs ta know how ta do those thangs, so do you," Jake added.

"I suppose I could use a couple of lessons on how to properly use a knife," Kathy admitted. "I know how to shoot a gun, that's how I made it long enough for Billy and Tim to find me." Kathy was quiet for a moment, obviously thinking things over.

"I can see your point, Alex. I just don't want you to turn her into some cold blooded killer," Kathy said quietly.

"Are you sayin' I'm a cold blooded killer," Alex asked her pointedly. Jake tensed next to her, ready to intervene if Alex lost her cool. He put his hand on her lower back, reminding her that he was there.

"I didn't say that, Alex. I simply don't want her to get caught up in this new world order where everyone is a killer and you take what you want, consequences be damned," Kathy said.

"You think we're just killin' people because it's fun and we want their shit," Alex asked, amazed at the audacity of this woman. "You think I killed Aaron just because I wanted his shit? Or maybe it's because I just wanted to watch him die. Apparently you haven't noticed, but we don't have any choice. We HAVE to kill in order to survive. Whether it's the dead or the living, if we want to continue to exist, we have to kill to protect it. Are you telling me you aren't willing to do that? You won't kill to protect us and this place?"

Alex's voice was slowly rising, drawing looks from those in the vicinity. Jake put his arm more firmly around her waist, trying to get Alex to back off without having to say anything to her. Alex turned and looked at him when she felt the pressure of his hand on her waist. Jake just looked at her and exhaled, which made Alex do the same thing.

"You know what, forget it. We will figure out something else for Sally. I don't want someone as weak as you influencing her in a way that could end up getting her killed," Alex said calmly. "In fact, it may be something we need to consider as a group, whether or not we want people here that are unwilling to do whatever it takes to protect our home. I guess I was mistaken about your character."

"Now Alex, that's not fair. Just because I'm not willing to kill a living, breathing person doesn't mean that I don't deserve to be here. I can't believe that you would make such a rash accusation," Kathy said.

Alex mumbled something about pots and kettles.

"Maybe you should just let the grownups decide what should be done. Are you even old enough to know what's at risk here," Kathy asked.

Alex tensed up and clenched her fists at Kathy's words. "Are you fucking kidding me? Do I know what's at risk here? I've given you full access to my home so you have a safe fucking place to live; I've given you my protection, my food, my fucking blood! And you have the fucking nerve to tell me that I don't know what's at stake? I'm the one with the blood on my hands," Alex shouted at her. "If anything, you're the one that doesn't know what's at stake here," she growled, stepping menacingly into Kathy's space.

Suddenly, Jake had Alex up and over his shoulder before she knew what was happening. Shards of pain stabbed through her chest as he heaved her over his shoulder unceremoniously. Alex cried out and yelled at him to put her down.

"Sorry, Al. Can't do it. You were 'bout ta go off tha rez an' we can't have that. I'll put ya down when we get a little distance between us," he said with a grin that Alex couldn't see. She stopped squirming. He walked her down passed the bunkhouse, to the tire swing at the creek before setting her down as gently as possible.

"Thanks," Alex said as she got her feet under her. "You were right, I was about to hit her. That would've been disastrous."

"No shit," Jake said with a grin. "Lucky fer you I can read ya like an open book."

"I don't know what came over me. I was fine one minute and then she just started saying stupid shit and then she called me a kid and I just kinda lost control. Guess I do need ya to save me still," she said with a grin.

Jake put his palm to her face, cupping her cheek in his hand and gently running his thumb over her fresh cut. "Nah, ya don' need me ta save ya anymore. I was savin' Kathy," he joked. "You really need ta learn ta control yer anger. Can't expect anyone ta believe ya ain't a kid if ya keep goin' off half-cocked. Gotta 'member ta use yer words," he said cheekily. Alex punched him in the shoulder half heartedly.

"So, Mister Dixon, you wanna finish our conversation from earlier, ya know, the one where you were tellin' me what you were thinkin'," Alex asked, suddenly feeling bold enough to broach the subject.

Jake felt his face and neck flush and he instinctively took a step back from her, but Alex reached out and grabbed his shirt, forcing him to stay put. "Don't do that. Something's bothering you, just tell me what it is already," Alex insisted. "You bein' all weird is making me think something is seriously wrong."

Jake took a deep breath to try to calm his nerves. _This is it, I jus' gotta do it an' get it over with_, he told himself.

"Okay, but ya can't interrupt me. Ya gotta jus' be quiet til I get it all out, can ya do that," Jake asked her, looking anywhere but in her eyes.

Alex nodded and released her hold on his shirt.

"Tha conversation we had in tha cave, 'bout my inappropriate thoughts… ya said that fer you it wasn't jus' a schoolgirl crush, tha' it was bigger than that," Jake said in a voice not much louder than a whisper.

Alex nodded her head at him with wide eyes.

Jake was quiet for a moment, staring at the ground and working up the courage to continue. When he looked up, Alex's big brown eyes were staring at him, searching for an answer that he was scared to give.

"Ya asked if it would change thangs if ya were eighteen…," his voice trailed off.

Alex inched closer to him, not wanting to scare him away, but wanting to let him know that she was there for him and that it was okay, whatever he had to say to her. She reached down to take his hand in hers, urging him on with her smile.

"Mmmhmm," Alex hummed.

"I jus' can' be okay with anythin' happenin' 'tween us 'til then, but it don't mean I don't feel nothin' fer ya, cuz I do," he rushed out, instantly feeling his face flush again. He finally got the courage to look Alex in the eyes and he was glad he did. She looked happier than he'd ever seen her; there was a twinkle in her eyes that he'd definitely never seen there before.

"Can I talk now," she asked him with an even bigger smile.

"Dunno. Do I wanna hear what'cha got ta say," he asked her, seriously.

"Stop it," Alex said with a swat of her hand on his arm. "I don't know what would make ya think you weren't going to like what I had to say. Pretty sure I already offered to wait for ya til my birthday. I still think it's silly, I don't understand what difference twenty days is going to make, but if you need twenty days, you can have twenty days," she teased. "I'll try to fend off my other suitors, but I'm not making any promises."

As soon as the joke came out of her mouth, Alex regretted it. Jake's jaw tightened and she felt his body tense under her hand. She knew they were both thinking about Aaron and how close they had both come to losing one another. Alex didn't want to ever deal with something like that again.

"Ya know, twenty days is a long time in an apocalypse. I'll understand if you change your mind and only need ten," she said with a wink, trying to lighten the mood.

Jake remained tense but he wouldn't take his eyes off of her, and it was starting to make her self-conscious. Maybe she really had fucked up by being a smart ass this time. Alex broke eye contact and looked down at the ground, wishing it would swallow her up. She'd finally gotten him to tell her what was going on and she'd ruined it!

Alex was about to apologize for being an ass when Jake grabbed her and pulled her tightly to his body before aggressively kissing her. Alex instinctively reacted, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him as close as she could. She didn't know what she was doing, having never really kissed anyone before. She tried to follow Jake's lead but it was just a tangle of lips and tongues and teeth, frenzied and passionate, as if they would never have another opportunity like this. She was overwhelmed with the explosion of feelings coursing through her body and all she wanted was to get closer to him. No matter how close she held him to her body it wasn't close enough.

As suddenly as it started, it was over. Jake pulled himself away, resting his forehead against Alex's, both of them left breathless from the activity.

"'M sorry," Jake mumbled. "Shouldn'ta done that."

"I'm not complaining," Alex said as she tried to catch her breath, "but what was that? You just said that nothin' could happen 'til after my birthday. I'm confused." She pulled herself out of Jake's embrace so she could look at him properly.

Jake really hadn't planned on kissing her, especially not like that. He could see that her lips were raw from the frenzied kiss and he was overwhelmed with guilt. He'd only done it because of what she'd said about fending off other suitors. His brain suddenly flooded with images of Alex lying on the ground in that cave instead of Aaron, her body covered with blood and mutilated by that asshole. He couldn't help himself, the instinct to have that intimate contact with her drove him to possess her in the only way he could. And in that moment of lost control he'd managed to make everything worse, she had pulled away from him. She stood there staring at him, waiting for a response and Jake realized he had to say something.

"'M sorry," he said again, looking off at the water.

"You shouldn't be sorry," Alex said gently, "I just want to know what's going on inside your head."

Jake felt the sudden need to be somewhere else. Talking about it was just going to make it worse. Or confuse things more. It wouldn't help, he knew that for sure. He couldn't fucking think around her. He needed space to process his new depth of stupidity.

"'M gonna go talk ta Ellie, make sure she's ready fer tonight," he mumbled at the ground as he took a couple of steps backwards. Before he could turn to walk away he had to look at her, and he regretted it. She looked like he'd kicked her in the gut. He turned and started to walk back to the barn.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, Jake Dixon," Alex yelled at him, surprising even herself. "I want a fucking answer. What the hell is going on with you?" She stood there, anger bubbling below the surface, with her hands on her hips.

His back was still to her, his shoulders hunched. Without turning around to face her he said, "Jus' thought tha' in case we don' make it ta yer birthday… ya needed ta know ..." he said before walking away.

Alex stood there watching as he walked away. Her brain was a jumble of incoherent thoughts. The only one that stood out echoed over and over, _Needed to know what?_


	21. Chapter 21 - Day Eleven, Part Four

**Chapter 21**

**Day Eleven, Part Four**

Jake found Ellie and explained the basic plan that they had come up with as far as day to day operations for the first week or so. They wanted to make sure that they cleared out all the ranches that shared fence lines with the Lazy H as well as gather as many supplies from all those places as they could. They had assigned people jobs and the living assignments seemed to be working out fine.

A bunch of walkies had been found out on the runs that day, so they were now able to give each person on fence patrol a walkie to call for backup or report an issue. The horses were ready for riding on the patrols when Billy and Tim were ready to switch the teams up and they were thinking about rounding up more horses just in case.

The garden team was working well and they would start a team tomorrow on the orchards. They'd found a number of cases of jars for canning and they would be able to start preserving fruit and vegetables immediately for the winter.

A team had brought in building supplies and they would be able to start building a new smokehouse within the next couple of days. They likely wouldn't have to do any hunting since there was so much livestock running loose in the area. Jake's plan was to start rounding up cattle, pigs and goats to slaughter and cure in the new shed, saving deer hunting for later when things were not as easily available.

They had picked a ranch nearby that they were going to use as a place to bury the walkers in giant pits and a team had already been formed to begin working on that tomorrow. They had cleared the walkers from all of the ranches that were accessible from the main dirt road that shared a fence line with the Lazy H, but there were still a handful on the other side of the road that they hadn't gotten to yet. Plus all the ranches that they had to access through other roads on the other side of the mountain. That would start tomorrow as well. They had decided that all the walkers they kill close to home would be loaded on a truck and dumped in the pits, while ones that were farther away would be located in an isolated area like a field or a barn, some place where they wouldn't be obvious to anyone passing by and they wouldn't decay and end up in someone's water supply.

While Jake explained things to Ellie, Alex went to find Sally, who was still in the barn working with Kathy. Alex didn't say anything to her, she just nodded her head at the girl and she came running. As Alex turned around to lead Sally back to the creek, she ran directly into Kara, knocking J.J.'s toy out of her hands and into the dirt. Alex hissed at the contact and the pain it caused in her ribs.

"Sssss… ow… sorry," Alex said as she looked up and realized who she'd run into. Sally bent down to pick up the toy just as J.J. screwed his face up and began to cry. Kara bounced him on her hip as she looked Alex over.

"You really should be more careful. Where's Jake? Thought I just saw the two of ya gettin' cosy down by the water a minute ago," Kara said with a nasty look. "Don't you think he's a little old for you? You can't possibly know what a man like him needs. You're just a kid," Kara pushed, getting in Alex's face.

Alex didn't back down and pushed Kara back, even though she was still holding a crying J.J. "He's been done with you for a long time, Kara. Remember the last time you left here crying because he refused you? How pathetic and sad you were, practically begging him to marry you? I remember," Alex said, pointing her finger in Kara's face. "I remember what a lying, conniving skank you were, so don't show up here acting like you're a fucking angel of light to rescue someone that sure as fuck don't want you."

Alex stepped back a little, giving Kara enough room to switch J.J. to her other hip. As she did so, Alex's hand moved to the knife at her waist, casually resting it there while Kara's eyes flitted between Alex's face and her knife.

"Are you threatening me," Kara shouted at her.

"Why, do you feel threatened," Alex shot back.

A small crowd had gathered around, watching the tense exchange. Shelly came out of the crowd and grabbed J.J. from Kara's arms. "For god's sake, Kara, knock it off," she admonished her friend. "Quit acting like the girl is stealing your husband. You're ridiculous, always stirring up trouble," Shelly said to Kara, urging her to move by nudging her with her arm. "Sorry, Alex," Shelly said as she navigated Kara away from the scene.

Alex shrugged her shoulders, repressing the urge to visibly wince at the pain in her ribs from the move. _Stupid fucking ribs_, she thought to herself. "Come on, Sally," she called to the girl as she walked towards the water. Sally quickly fell in at Alex's side and they walked in silence to the water's edge.

"Where we goin'," Sally asked when Alex stopped walking.

"You know anything about horses," Alex asked her.

"Not much, had lessons when I was little, but those stopped years ago," Sally answered. "Why?"

"I'm gonna head out to the pasture to check on them. Thought maybe you should get to know them, I think we'll be going out to round up livestock pretty soon and you gotta be able to stay on the horse no matter what if you want to help on those runs," Alex told her.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Sally said. "It's like riding a bike, right? Once you learn you never forget," Sally asked.

"I guess we'll find out," Alex said.

They walked to the pasture in silence. The afternoon was warm; birds were singing in the brush while hawks and buzzards circled lazy circles on the currents high in the sky. Alex pointed out lizards and other critters to Sally as they walked. They found the horses grazing peacefully in the pasture. Alex was happy to find that they were not being harassed by walkers any longer. There were some benefits to having so many people around after all.

Alex climbed over the gate to the pasture followed by Sally. Alex introduced Sally to each of the horses, minus Honey who wouldn't come anywhere near them anyway. Sally spent time petting each horse and letting them smell her scent. After all the introductions, Sally just stood petting Penny, Alex's horse.

"Why is Kara always such a bitch to you," Sally asked after a while.

"I dunno. She and Jake used to date but it didn't end well between them. I guess when he found her she thought she still had a chance with him," Alex ventured.

"Were you going to stab her if Shelly hadn't come over," Sally asked cautiously. "I saw you touching your knife. You can't stab someone while they're holding a kid, right?"

Alex shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to stab her, but not because she was holding a kid. She's not a threat that I'm worried about. She can't physically take me, so unless she comes up behind me and shoots me in the back she can't get the drop on me."

Sally was quiet for a few minutes. "Why do you let her stay?"

"Dunno. Guess she's here mainly because of the kid, there's no way Jake would have just left her out there to fend for herself. They don't have a chance of surviving out there alone. Besides, if just being a bitch was enough to get you booted, I'd be out on my ass," Alex joked.

When the horses had enough of their attention, Alex and Sally walked back to the barn. It was still going to be a few hours before they began to gather for the big meeting. The plan was to serve everyone dinner beforehand, so they could eat and meet at the same time, hopefully keeping the talking to a minimum. They found Billy and Tim going over things at the barn.

"Need any help with anything," Alex asked them.

"Could use some help in the kitchen. Looks like Betty and Norma have their hands full trying to get all the meat grilled for tonight. Think you can help them out with that," Billy asked her.

"Sure thing. Sally and I will take care of it," Alex nodded.

As they walked to the bunkhouse, Jake and Ellie came around the corner from the gardens, under the watchful eye of Kara across the yard. J.J. was nowhere to be seen. Ellie was laughing at something that Jake was saying as he gestured over towards the barn. Alex caught his eye as she and Sally crossed the yard, Jake quickly looking away and bringing his focus back to Ellie. Alex rolled her eyes and followed the girl inside to the kitchen where Betty and Norma greeted them with cheers. Alex put on an apron and settled in for the next few hours on the grill.

Meanwhile, Jake was trying to get his head on straight. He was okay once Ellie started asking him questions about things around the ranch, which had lasted for a couple of hours. And then he caught a glimpse of Alex and his head was right back in cloud of confusion. He and Ellie still had some things to cover, so Jake tore his mind from Alex and back to the task at hand.

"So I think I can figure out the rest on my own, don't need ya using me as an excuse anymore," Ellie said with a wink.

"What're ya talkin' 'bout," Jake asked her.

"It's obvious that you're here talkin' to me instead of dealin' with whatever it is that's got you all twisted up inside. I ain't your bartender anymore, so you're gonna have to find some other way to hide from your sorrows," Ellie teased.

"Don' know what'cher talkin' 'bout," Jake said, but his ears turned red, giving him away. "Fine. I got other shit ta do anyway," Jake said turning from her. "See ya at tha meetin'."

Jake found Billy and Tim where Alex had left them, arguing over something. "S' goin' on boys," Jake asked, finally pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. He'd been wanting one for hours but forced himself to wait, since there was a limited number of them left now.

"Just tryin' to figure out how many more trailers we should pack in tomorrow. Thought we had enough, but Tim here thinks we should have at least a dozen more," Billy said, looking at his brother.

"I'm just sayin' it's easier to have them here already than to try to go get them once people are already here needin' a place to stay," Tim said.

"Don't see any reason why not," Jake said. "Can always store 'em on another place if we don't have tha space jus' ta store 'em. An' we don' wanna risk someone else takin' 'em, right?"

"True enough," Billy said. "What about the new smokehouse? You got any opinions on that," Billy asked.

"What 'bout it," Jake asked after a long drag from his cigarette.

"Where do we want it and how important is it to get finished right now," Billy asked.

Jake showed him where they wanted to build the new building and told them he thought sooner rather than later was good. If winter came early this year they would be happy the building was complete before the first snow.

"Alright, we'll get it knocked out asap. Tomorrow we start digging pits and recovering bodies for burial. I know we told Kathy that we would start collecting the ID's from the dead, but I really don't like the idea of digging through their pockets, you know what I mean? Seems like a bad idea," Billy said.

"I agree. I don't want to go sticking my hands in pockets, we got no idea what could be in there. And if I don't want to do it, I ain't gonna ask anyone else to do it neither," Tim said.

"Fair enough. Don't matter to me none. Don't think Alex would care either," Jake said.

"Speaking of, I hear our little firecracker has been making friends all afternoon," Billy teased.

"Don't get me started. Told'ja what she said ta Kathy, 'bout whether or not she deserves ta stay 'ere if she ain't willin' ta kill ta keep this place safe. Al's got a point, even if some of us don't like it," Jake said. "What else's she been doin'? She piss someone else off already," Jake asked.

"She and Kara had an argument, something about you I reckon. Didn't get too outta hand, guess Shelly showed up just in time and whisked Kara off somewhere. Told her she shouldn't be so rude and mentioned something about how it wasn't like the girl was stealing her husband or something and to leave her alone," Tim said with a grin.

"I swear ta god, I don' know wha' I gotta do ta get Kara ta leave it alone," Jake said with a shake of his head. "Alex isn't gonna take much more shit from her… and I can't say as I blame 'er."

"Me neither," Billy said. "She's been through a lot and she's holding up better than I thought, especially after last night. What can we do? Should we sit down and talk to Kara, tell her that if she doesn't stop trying to start shit with Alex she's gonna be asked to leave? We can't just send her and the kid back out there, not just for being a bitch."

"I'll talk ta her again," Jake said. "Not that talkin' ta women seems ta be doin' me any good at all right now."

"Figured you talked to Alex. Went that bad, eh," Billy asked, lighting a smoke of his own.

"Fuck, man. I dunno what tha fuck happened. I tol' 'er that we gotta wait til she turns eighteen, she seemed ta understand. Then she said somethin' that made me think 'bout her bein' tha one dead in that cave an' her mutilated body an' tha thought that she almost died… I don't know how it happened, I just grabbed 'er an' kissed her like my life depended on it. I seriously fucked up this time, boys," Jake lamented.

Billy and Tim both did their best to hold their laughter in, but Tim was the first to crack, letting out a howl of laughter with Billy right behind him. Jake's face got red and he sucked down the rest of his cigarette, lighting a second from the butt. "Yeah, go'on an' laugh it up, assholes. End uh tha fuckin' world an' all I can think 'bout is Alex. S' gonna get one of us killed," Jake said seriously.

"That's why I said ya gotta get over the age thing, man. She's days away from eighteen. Seems to me like you're making a big deal outta nothin'," Billy said. "She's on board, you're on board, her daddy ain't gonna show up an' shoot ya, so I don't know what you two stubborn asses are waiting for. You said it yourself, it's the end of the world and we got better things to worry about."

Jake didn't say anything; he just let Billy's words roll around in his head a bit. Nothing the man said sounded wrong. And they definitely had more important things to worry about than his feelings for Alex. They needed to get it all sorted out and be done with it.

Jake decided that he would set Kara straight before the meeting tonight, while Alex was preoccupied. After the meeting, when it was just him and Alex at the house, he would try to get things figured out with her. It wasn't like they were getting married tomorrow; they just needed to both be on the same page about things. He just hoped that was possible.

Jake found Kara lurking around the barn, not far from where he and the boys had been talking. He hoped that she hadn't been able to hear anything that they'd said.

"Hi there, darlin'," she drawled at him. "What're you doin'," she asked as she sashayed up to him. Jake put his hand out for her to keep her distance; he could see that she was planning on putting her hands on his chest.

"What's wrong? Thought you came lookin' for me so we could spend some time together. Alone," she said pointedly. The smile on her face made Jake sick to his stomach. He wanted nothing to do with this woman. Why didn't she get it?

"I jus' came ta tell ya that ya need ta leave Alex alone. Ya got no reason ta be sayin' tha shit ya do to her," Jake said, keeping his distance. "I. Ain't. Interested. At all," he stated. "You an' me are done, have been fer years. So stop it. Leave me alone, leave Alex alone. We clear," Jake asked her.

"What do you mean, _are we clear_? You think you can just order me around like one of these fools," she yelled. "You don't tell me what to do!"

Jake wasn't backing down. "I'm only gonna say this once. Next time ya step outta line, it ain't gonna be me yer talkin' to. If yer lucky it'll be Billy. But if ya ain't, it'll be Alex. An' no one's gonna step in ta save ya, not after what they heard ya say ta her today."

"No one's gonna do shit to me," Kara laughed. "You wouldn't dare send us back out there. It'd be a death sentence and I know that's not something you could live with Jake Dixon."

"Alex'd send ya back out there ina heartbeat, make no mistake 'bout that," Jake said calmly. "And it ain't about what I would do, it's about what tha council will do, an' I'm only one vote. And jus' so ya know, Alex wasn't jokin' 'bout slittin' Aaron's throat an' watchin' 'im die. I don' think ya got any idea who yer messin' with, Kara. Ya think she'll give ya a pass cuz ya got a baby? Ya really wanna test that theory? I don't," Jake said. He wasn't trying to make Alex out to be some crazed killer, but he needed Kara to understand that Alex was a very real threat that should not be underestimated.

Kara didn't seem phased by Jake's assessment of Alex as a threat and she rolled her eyes at Jake's words. "Give me a break. Are you seriously telling me that all these people here are okay with a little girl running around terrorizing and killing people? Maybe she needs her mommy to put her in her place," Kara sneered.

"Ya got no fuckin' idea what'cher talkin' 'bout, Kara. Ya better pull yer head outta yer ass an' figure out how ta get along with her. You an' J.J. got real lucky an' yer gettin' a chance ta raise 'im in a safer place than ya were before we found ya. You think he's got a chance out there with jus' you ta protect 'im, by all means, keep it up. Ain't no sweat off my back one way or tha other," Jake said.

Kara tried to close the space between her and Jake, but Jake stepped back out of reach as soon as she started to take a step. "I ain't got nothin' else ta say. Jus' quit bein' such a bitch," he said as he turned to walk away from her.

Kara stood there staring after him. "This ain't over, Jake! You hear me," she called after him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The meeting that night was interesting, to say the least. Billy started out by introducing the official council to everyone, and then the leaders of each team that had been designated. It didn't take long for someone to complain about the makeup of the council.

"I know I'm new here, but why is there a kid on the council," a man called out from the crowd. Murmurs of agreement rolled through the crowd.

Billy started to respond, but Alex waived him off. "I'm on the council because this is my land, and it was my idea to bring you all in and give you a safe place to live. All the things you are enjoying here? That's because of me. I couldn't have made it all possible alone, which is why Jake, Billy and Tim are also on the council. Ellie seems to be an honest straight shooter, so she was offered the final spot. If you don't like how we're doing things, you are more than welcome to leave with what you arrived with," Alex said with a smile. Everyone on the council nodded in agreement. The rumbling in the crowd died down to a whisper.

"Anyone else have anything to say on that matter," Billy asked the crowd. No one said anything.

"Good. I'd just like to state for the record that I trust Alex, and so should all of you. So far, every idea she's had has been a good one and you all should be thanking her for suggesting it. Otherwise we'd all still be in the storage compound." There were a few nods around the group.

"Moving on," Billy said, "I think it's important to understand that the council makes the decisions around here. There will be no going rogue. If you want to do something, you need to have the approval of the council. If you do something without council approval, it will be immediate grounds for exile from the compound. We cannot survive as a group if we are not acting like a group." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in. "We'd like you to raise your hand if you agree with that statement. Keep in mind, raising your hand indicates your willingness to follow this rule," Billy explained. He waited while people began raising their hands around the group. After a few minutes, only two people had not raised their hands.

"You two got a problem," Jake asked gruffly, nodding his head at the two men.

"Yeah, we got a problem," one of the two men said, coming to his feet. "What if we don't agree with your council's decision? What if we think something should be done but you guys shoot it down? Are we supposed to just let you make decisions that we don't think are in our best interest?" He looked around at the group, but didn't find many sympathetic faces.

"What's your name, pal," Billy asked.

"Bob," the man replied.

"Well, Bob, what decisions have we made so far that you disagree with? Anything specific? Or is it that you just don't want to be told what to do," Billy asked. There were a few whispers that went around the group.

"I don't think I should be on the burial team, I have other strengths," Bob said.

"As I'm sure my brother made perfectly clear when assigning duties, the burial team will be rotated every two days, unless you have requested to stay assigned to the team. It's the least desirable job and we thought it was only fair to spread the fun out so that everyone has a chance to get their hands dirty," Billy said. "So, while I'm sorry you aren't happy with the assignment, you aren't alone, and it will only be a two day rotation at a time. If you really think that this is something you cannot be a part of, then speak now. I suggest you consider whether or not things will be any easier outside of those fences."

There were nods of approval; most people seemed to agree with Billy, that while it was unpleasant, it was fair. Bob looked around the group, seeing he was clearly alone in his thinking, he conceded the point and raised his hand to indicate he was willing to follow the rule. That left just one man.

"How about you, what's your name," Tim asked the other man.

"Eric," the man replied.

"All right Eric, what's your beef," Tim said.

"I don't think there should be women on the council," Eric said, getting straight to the point. "We don't need hormonal broads making decisions that put us all in danger. Besides, don't these two better serve the community by tending to the kids and the cooking," he asked, looking around to the group. He was surprised to find only glares staring back at him.

"Kathy, how many people do we have here now," Billy asked, looking to Kathy.

"There are eighty seven people here, as of this afternoon," Kathy answered.

"And how many of those are children," Billy asked.

"There are eight people under the age of sixteen," Kathy answered promptly.

"Of the remainder, how many are women and how many men," Billy asked.

"Forty women, thirty nine men," Kathy replied.

"By my math, Eric, that means there are more women than men here. And these two particular women I'd be willing to bet have been more useful to this place and saved more lives than you have in your short stay here. In fact, I believe we owe Alex a big thank you for single handedly taking out a herd of thirty four walkers yesterday." He paused while hushed voices whispered about that feat, some clearly in awe that a girl could do something like that. When they quieted somewhat, he continued. "Yes, you heard right. Alex here killed thirty four of them all by herself. Tell me, Eric, how many have you killed?"

Eric looked around the group, finding no looks of sympathy in the crowd. He opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of it and sat down.

"Just so we're clear, ya'll are all here at Alex's invitation. This isn't a democracy and it ain't some hippy commune, neither. We've got some simple rules to lay out before the group and you will have the opportunity to agree or disagree with those rules by raising your hand. If you don't like it, you've got two choices: figure out how to like it, or leave and do your own thing," Billy said.

"I'd like to add something, Billy," Alex said. He nodded to her to go on. "Do any of you know how we deal with threats here?" Heads shook around the group. "Perhaps we should clear that up for you before you have to decide whether or not you want to stay and follow the rules," she said, looking around to the rest of the council. No one objected, so Alex continued.

"Some of you may know that there was an incident last night that involved me and Zach's brother, Aaron. I'd known him for years and thought we were at least acquaintances, but once we brought Aaron in, his behavior took a turn. Last night he snuck up, beat me, tied me up and threatened to rape me. I managed to get out of the ropes and killed him when he refused to back off." Muttering began to roll through the crowd. Apparently some of them had not heard the story yet.

"Yes, I killed him. For the record, I slit his throat, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant me surviving another day. So now that you all know how I deal with threats, let's talk about how you all would deal with a threat. How many of you have killed walkers," she asked. A number of hands went up throughout the crowd.

"And how many of you have killed a human," she asked, raising her hand. This time, only Jake, Billy, Tim, Ellie and Zach raised their hands.

"We are dealing with more than just the threat of the dead, people. The living are just as dangerous because we let our guards down, assuming they are good people and deserving of our help. That's why _you_ are all here. But not everyone is trustworthy, not everyone is out to survive through hard work, they're out to take what others have worked hard for. The night before we offered you all a place here, a group of armed men showed up here and tried to kill Jake to take this place from us. Jake obviously didn't let that happen; he killed all five of them. By himself. How many of you would be _willing_ to kill a human, in defense of this place and these people," she asked the group.

People looked around at each other before deciding on raising their hands. It was split about evenly, with perhaps a couple more people willing to kill than unwilling. Alex was pretty happy with the show of hands. She had honestly expected fewer willing to kill. She had one more question for the group, now that they had aligned themselves into camps without knowing it.

"I have one last question for those of you that are willing to kill to protect this place and these people," Alex said looking around at the crowd. She found Kara glaring at her as she looked around, but quickly averted her eyes from the woman. "Are you okay with putting your life on the line to protect people that are unwilling to do the same for you? It's one thing to protect someone that is _unable_ to protect themselves. But _unwilling_ is a different matter."

She stopped talking and waited for someone to say something. It was inevitable that someone would be fired up by her words, one side or another. She didn't have to wait long. Eric was the first person to stand up and ask to say something.

"I can't believe I'm sayin' this, but the girl has a point. Why should I risk my life for someone that wouldn't do the same for me," he asked.

"Yeah, if we can only survive as a group, how does someone unwilling to defend the group fit? As a group shouldn't we all be carrying an equal share of the burden," Zach asked.

There were nods of agreement around the group.

"I don't understand why those of us that are unwilling to take a human life are being singled out like we did something wrong," Kathy complained. "I am more than willing to pull my weight around here, just in other ways."

There were nods from some of the group supporting Kathy's statement and shaking of heads against it.

"The day will come when pulling your weight means defending us from other people. How will you pull your weight then," Zach asked her.

"Maybe it's the type of thing that you won't know you are able to do until it is time to do it," Sally said in a quiet, barely audible voice. Only a few people sitting near her at the front heard what she said.

"What's that, half pint," Jake asked, getting the attention of the group and quieting them down with a look. "Go on, stand up an' say yer piece, kid," he encouraged her.

Sally nervously stood up and addressed the group in the loudest voice she could muster. "Maybe you don't know if you can kill a person until you have to… until your life depends on it you don't know what you are capable of." She quickly sat back down in her place and folded her arms around her legs, trying to shrink as small as possible.

Sally's comment lit a fire under the discussion of the group, and voices were soon raised in heated debate. A number of people that had previously indicated they would not be willing to kill someone seemed to be changing their minds, based on the comments that were making their way to Alex's ears at the front. She hadn't known that Sally would be the one to ignite the fire, but she had hoped that someone would lead them through the discussion she knew the group needed to have, and they needed to not think it was being shoved down their throats. She couldn't have planned it to go this well.

Alex leaned over to Jake sitting next to her, "Smart kid."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think ya set 'er up ta say it," Jake said with a small grin.

"Didn't have to, figured someone would say it if I framed the issue right, didn't think it would be Sally though. I thought I'd be Zach," Alex admitted.

The group seemed to have settled a bit, Billy was keeping an eye on things, making sure everything stayed relatively calm. Alex stood to address the group.

"Alright. Let's bring the discussion back to the group. Anyone have anything else to add before we move on to a vote," Alex asked.

"What vote," Kathy shouted. "Whether or not to kick people out?!"

More grumbling rolled through the group.

Alex waived her hands to calm the group back down. "No, not on whether to kick you out. We are going to vote on whether or not people are willing to protect those that are unwilling to protect others. The outcome of that vote will determine what comes next. So, any further discussion?"

"If we decide we don't want to protect them, what is the next step," Eric said.

Billy stood up to address the question. "If we, as a group, decide we are unwilling to protect them, then we will discuss the matter of exile," Billy said plainly.

"That's a death sentence," Kathy yelled, clearly panicked. There were other supportive grumblings in the group.

"Yes, it is," Alex said simply. "And if we let you stay and you fail to protect the group, your inaction could be a death sentence for someone else."

"Look, we don't want to kick anyone out," Tim said. "We really don't. We have been really impressed with the hard work that everyone has put in to help make this place run smoothly. I, personally, understand your hesitation at deciding to take a human life, but I think that Sally is right; you don't know what you are able to do until you're put in the situation. I was put in that situation pretty early on, about three days into this whole thing, and I didn't hesitate. I saw what they were doing and I had to stop them. They were going to steal the town's guns and kill Billy and I, no doubt about it. Now I know what I am willing to do. I think we can agree as a group that as long as you are willing to try, willing to fight for these people, they will be willing to fight for you, is that fair," Tim asked, looking around to the group for approval of the statement. Slowly, people began to nod in agreement. Even the last few hold outs eventually agreed.

"All right, for those of you that previously were disinclined to kill to protect the group, is it an agreeable statement to you that you are willing to defend this place from attack, human or otherwise, should the need arise, to the best of your ability," Billy asked.

Everyone that fell into that group raised their hands. Alex almost laughed at how easy it was to turn the tide.

"And for the rest of you, is that enough of a compromise for you to choose to defend their lives, should the need arise," Billy asked again.

Once again, it was unanimous.

"Alright. Everyone that is here is here because they choose to be and because we have chosen to let them stay. Everyone here has agreed to defend the property from outside attack, whether dead or alive, to the best of their ability. We've explained the law of the land, so to speak, and the consequences of not following the rules, which is essentially exile. Are we ready to move on to the next topic," Billy asked the group. When no one had any objections, Billy continued.

"Everyone will have jobs; some jobs will be on a rotation so that everyone has an equal share of the burden. Please put in any work detail requests with Tim and we will do our best to accommodate everyone, though that may mean moving to a rotation schedule for more popular jobs. Also, if it becomes apparent that you are not a good fit for that position, you will be reassigned. Assignment priorities are first for the good of the group and second for the good of the individual." Billy looked around making sure that everyone understood what he was saying.

"Living arrangements," Billy said, "are fluid, for the moment. We have more than enough room for everyone, so if you aren't happy with how things are now, let me know and we can move things around. If at some point in the future there are more people, we may have to rearrange things, but we're a ways from that being an issue…"

Billy went on, explaining housing and storage and food issues. It seemed that since they had started out with the hardest stuff, people were pretty agreeable to everything else that came after. Alex wished that had been part of her plan. It ended up taking another hour to cover everything they'd wanted to cover. The last thing was the only other thing that could have ruffled any feathers.

"On a final note," Billy said, "there has been some discussion of what to do in regards to behaviors that are not necessarily an expellable offense. The council discussed this briefly earlier today, and for lack of any better ideas, we think that the simplest way to deal with minor issues is an eye-for-an-eye. We hope it doesn't ever come to that, because if you steal something we don't want to cut your hand off - if the infection doesn't kill you walkers might if you can't properly defend yourself. We don't see this being an issue - you are all such upstanding citizens - but we have to lay it out there in case something does happen. Any disputes or punishments will be determined by the council, after listening to both sides, and decisions are made by a majority vote among the council. Anyone have any objections to that?"

Crickets. No one had anything to say about Hammurabi's Code making a comeback.

"Alright. That's all I got to say. Anyone else," Billy asked, looking to his council mates.

"I'd like to add something," Alex said. "Many of you have known me most of my life. Like many of you, I have experienced profound loss since the world went to shit. I love this land; my family's blood, sweat and tears have made it what it is today and I want to share that with you. I also am not afraid to do what needs to be done to protect this place from any threat, internal or external. I hope that threat doesn't come from any one of you, but if it does, you can be certain that justice will be swift and harsh. My father would have done the same thing, I'm certain of it."

There were murmurs of agreement at her words.

After that, no one had anything else to add so Billy dismissed the group and everyone dispersed to talk about what had just happened. The members of the council stayed where they were while people trickled by in ones and twos to ask questions or volunteer for a job, several even stopped just to say thank you.

"Just wanted to apologize to you," Eric said as he approached Alex with his hand out. Alex took it and shook it firmly. "I didn't know anything about you other than you being a young girl, but you talk a good game, and you seem pretty smart, so I'm on board for the ride. I'm sorry for being a dick," Eric finished.

"I appreciate it, Eric. It's a lot to deal with, I get it. Clean slate, okay," she asked.

Eric nodded, gave her a smile and walked away.

"Well, there's somethin' we don't see every day," Billy joked.

"What's that," Alex asked.

"You makin' friends instead of enemies," Billy replied.

"Well, the law of averages says it was bound to happen eventually," Alex said with a smirk. She and Jake both pulled out cigarettes at the same time and laughed, then he lit hers for her before lighting his own.

Sally came up from the crowd and wedged herself between Jake and Alex; Alex pulled the girl in for a quick side hug.

"You did good tonight," Alex said. "What made you say that stuff?"

"I was thinkin' about shooting those walkers this morning. I never thought I would be able to shoot a gun or kill something, but then you showed me how to, and I did it all by myself and it was awesome. I didn't know I could do it until I had to do it," Sally explained.

Jake was a little surprised to hear the girl say killing walkers was awesome. "Ya know, killin' 'em ain't supposed ta be fun," Jake said. "We do it cuz we gotta to survive, not because it's fun."

"I know. I just meant that it felt awesome to be able to do it on my own. I want to be able to take care of myself like Alex does," Sally responded.

Alex smiled at the girl. "She knows it's not a game, Jake," Alex said. "Looks like things are winding down, should we call it a night pretty soon?"

"Actually, I was going to ask you if I could stay with Mary and Tommy tonight. Shelly said it would be okay. We just thought it would be fun to go through some of our stuff that you guys brought back," Sally said.

"I guess you can stay, but we'll check with Shelly to make sure," Alex said. Jake nodded.

They made their way over to the bunkhouse and spoke to Shelly, who was more than happy to have Sally stay with them. The kids quickly disappeared into the room the kids were staying in and soon they could hear squeals and laughter as their things were being rediscovered.

"We'll be down first thing in the morning for breakfast," Alex said. "Thanks for doing this, Shelly. It's really nice to see the kids happy, at least for a little while."

"It's my pleasure, Alex. I'm happy my little brother and sister still have a friend around, they lost just about everything else. Thanks again for bringing us here," Shelly said with a sad smile. "We'll see you two in the morning!"

Alex and Jake met up with Billy and Tim, figured out the plan for the next day and made their way to the house. After all the noise and activity at the barn, the house was almost eerily quiet. After dumping all their gear in the living room, Alex made her way out to the porch and lit a cigarette. Jake retrieved two beers from the refrigerator and met her outside.

"Hell of a day," Jake said, handing Alex a beer after opening it for her. She smiled as she took it from him. Jake sat next to her on the porch swing and took a swig of his beer then lit a smoke.

"Yeah. I can't believe how much we got done today," she said quietly. Alex scooted closer to Jake; he placed his beer bottle in his lap and wrapped his arm around Alex's shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

"We gotta talk 'bout earlier," Jake said quietly. He really didn't want to do this at all, but Billy was right, they needed to figure something out so that he wouldn't be so preoccupied all the time.

"Yeah, I figured," Alex said, taking a long drag. "You wanna start or you want me to start," Alex asked, glad they were side by side so she didn't have to actively avoid his eyes.

"I'll start, I guess," Jake said. He took a deep breath and a long pull off the beer to steady his nerves. "I'm sorry fer kissin' ya tha way I did. It shouldn'ta happened that way. Ya deserve better than that. Ya made that joke, an' all I could see was you layin' dead in that cave instead of him, an' I lost my mind fer a minute. All I wanted ta do was hold ya an' protect ya an' love ya, an' my brain got all jumbled an' I panicked. In that moment I had ta feel ya there with me."

Jake paused to take a drag. _Did Jake just say that he loves me_, she thought. He'd said it so calmly and just moved on. "I'm so sorry I said that," Alex whispered. "It was a horrible joke and I realized it as soon as it came out of my mouth…"

Jake raised his hand to stop her. "Al, stop. Lemme finish, 'kay?" Alex nodded.

"Was talkin' ta tha boys earlier after I panicked, told 'em what happened. Billy said somethin' that I haven't been able ta get outta my mind. Said I was makin' a big deal outta nothin', that yer jus' days away from bein' eighteen an' that it if it's somethin' we both want, we should go fer it. Ya know, since it's tha end of tha world an' we got better thangs ta worry 'bout than yer age," Jake finished with a smile. He was hoping Alex was still on board after he'd been an ass this afternoon.

"So what are ya sayin' Jake," she asked, turning to look at him for the first time.

"I'm sayin' we don' gotta wait 'til yer birthday, I'm yers if ya still wan' me," he said in a hushed voice.

Alex's eyes got big and a smile crept across her face. Followed by panic. Jake immediately saw she was terrified and he pulled away from her to give her space. "I mean, it's okay if ya don't," he said, trying to contain his emotions. He tried to read her face, but was having a hard time figuring out her expression.

"Oh! No, I mean, yes. Wait… what," Alex stuttered out. "It's just… I mean… I… ahhh." She fiddled with her hands in her lap, her cigarette long since forgotten, along with her beer. Alex let out a long sigh. "What does that mean, us being together," she asked. "I mean, I… there's a lot I don't think I'm ready for," she said, feeling her cheeks immediately turn a violent shade of crimson.

"What… Oh! I'm a' idiot," Jake said with a laugh. "I didn' even mean it like tha'," he said. "I mean, maybe, eventually someday," he said awkwardly, his ears turning bright red. He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself.

"I ain't askin' ya ta do anythin'. I ain't ready fer that neither," he said. Relief flooded Alex's face at his words. "Whatever this is, it ain't about sex. I want ta be near ya, take care of ya, let ya take care of me. I want ya ta know that I've always got yer back, no matter what. No more bossin' ya around or gettin' mad at ya fer doin' what ya do. You were trained by tha best, after all," he said with a wink.

Alex smiled at him, her breathing having finally returned to something resembling normal. She leaned into his side and Jake pulled her close. "Yeah, I was trained by the best," she said with a grin. "You mean it, no more gettin' mad at me for doin' what I've always done?" Jake nodded. "Good. Cuz I was getting pretty fed up with that shit," Alex said, nudging him in the side with her elbow. "And you're sure it's okay if we take things slow, like really, really slow? I don't want you to regret -"

"Ain't ever gonna regret nothing, not with you. Got it," Jake interrupted, taking her chin in his hand and turning her to look him in the eyes. "We don't know how much time we got with each other, don't wanna spend a minute of it regrettin' anythin'," he said, moving his lips closer to her face. He placed a gentle kiss on her cut cheek, and another on the other side.

Alex raised her chin slightly, bringing their lips to the same level. "No regrets," she whispered.

"No regrets," he said as he brought his lips to hers and pressed a gentle, chaste kiss to her lips.

Jake leaned back against the bench of the swing and pulled Alex gently into his side, wrapping his arms around her. Alex nuzzled into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist, inhaling the scent that was Jake. Her Jake.

They sat there like that for hours, watching the stars make their circuit around the sky, sharing whispered conversations about everything and nothing at all, simply enjoying the quiet of the night and each other's company.

Alex didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but she was certain she could survive it all, as long as Jake was by her side.

"I'm glad I got stuck at the end of the world with you, Jake," Alex murmured.

"Me too, Al. Me too."


	22. Update!

Just a quick note to let you know that the second part to this story is FINALLY ready for publishing , so I removed the last chapter (epilogue) to this story and moved it to where it belongs as part of the next story.

You can find it on my page. It's called: A Girl, An Apocalypse and A Dixon: Survival

I really hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading and sticking with me.


End file.
